The 27 Club: A Visual Analysis

In January, rapper Fredo Santana died of a seizure, most likely due to heavy use of lean (also known as Purple Drank), becoming the latest member of “The 27 Club.” This “club” is a group of musicians who tragically died at the age of 27, most commonly due to drug and/or alcohol abuse. Because this age seems to be a common age for musicians to die, a theory has developed that there is a statistically higher chance of musicians dying at this age than other ages, especially when compared to other professions.

Studies and statistical analyses have been performed in the past and have mostly found that there is no statistical evidence that death is more common at 27. But, I’ve always be fascinated by this and thought it would be interesting to collect some data and create a visual analysis of it. Using data from nndb.com, a database of “noteworthy” people throughout history, I created the following visualization, which attempts to find answers about “The 27 Club” theory through purely visual means. Click on the image to view the interactive viz.

Ken Flerlage, March 24, 2018

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