- Dec 4 Friedrich Zehm, German pianist and composer, dies at 85
- Dec 4 Pimp C. [Chad Butler], American rapper (Underground Kingz), dies of overuse of prescription cough syrup and sleep apnea at 33
- Dec 5 Andrew Imbrie, American contemporary classical composer, and pianist, dies at 86
- Dec 5 Karlheinz Stockhausen, German classical and electronic music composer, dies at 79
- Dec 6 András Szőllősy, Hungarian composer, and musicologist (cataloged works of Béla Bartók), dies at 86
- Dec 10 Robert Moevs, American composer, dies at 87
- Dec 11 Christie Hennessy, Irish singer (b. 1945)
- Dec 12 Ike Turner, American musician ("Rocket 88"; Ike and Tina Turner - "A Fool in Love"; "Proud Mary"), dies of cocaine overdose at 76
- Dec 13 Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Native American (Dakota Sioux) country music singer-songwriter, actor (Walker, Texas Ranger; Northern Exposure), and political activist, dies from complications of leukemia at 71
- Dec 14 Ernő Király, Yugoslavian composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 88
- Dec 16 Dan Fogelberg, American rocker (Same Old Lang Syne), dies at 56
- Dec 16 Harald Genzmer, German composer, dies at 98
- Dec 22 Joe Ames, American singer and actor (The Ames Brothers Show), dies at 86
Oscar Peterson (1925-2007)
Dec 23 Canadian jazz pianist and composer (Downbeat Magazine's Pianist of the Year, 1950-62), dies of kidney failure at 82
- Dec 25 Hans Otte, German composer and pianist (The Book of Sounds, Book of Hours), dies at 81
- Dec 25 Mighty King Kong, Kenyan reggae musician. (b. 1973)
- Dec 26 Joe Dolan, Irish singer and entertainer (b. 1943)
- Dec 28 Jiří Pauer, Czech composer, dies at 88
- Dec 31 Markku Peltola, Finnish actor (The Man Without A Past), and art-rock bassist and singer (Motelli Skronkle), dies at 51
Kendrick Lamar
Eminem
XXXTentacion
Tupac Shakur
Nicki Minaj
Coolio