- Dec 2 Mike Maxfield, British rock guitarist and songwriter (Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas - "The Cruel Sea"), dies at 79
- Dec 3 Myles Goodwyn, Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter (April Wine - "You Could Have Been a Lady"), and record producer, dies at 75 [1]
- Dec 5 Denny Laine [Brian Hines], British rock guitarist (The Moody Blues, 1964-66 - "Go Now"; Wings - "Mull of Kintyre"), dies of lung disease at 79 [1]
- Dec 11 Essra Mohawk [Sandra Hurvitz], American singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 75 [1]
- Dec 11 Jeffrey Foskett, American session and touring singer and guitarist (The Beach Boys; Brian Wilson; Wondermints), dies of thyroid cancer at 67
- Dec 11 Zahara [Bulelwa Mkutukana], South African singer-songwriter and guitarist (Loliwe), dies of an illness at 36 [1]
- Dec 16 Carlos Lyra, Brazilian bossa nova guitarist and singer-songwriter, dies of sepsis at 90 [1]
- Dec 20 Torben Ulrich, Danish tennis player, musician, writer, filmmaker, and father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, dies at 95
- Dec 22 Laura Lynch, American bluegrass and country musician and songwriter (Dixie Chicks, 1989-95), killed in a car crash at 65 [1]
- Dec 23 Murad Kazhlayev, Soviet and Dagestani composer, and conductor, dies at 92
- Dec 24 Ron Nelson, American composer, and pedagogue (Brown University, 1973-93), dies at 94
- Dec 26 Tommy Smothers, American comedian and folk singer (The Smothers Brothers Show; Serial), dies of lung cancer at 86 [1]
- Dec 27 Mbongeni Ngema, South African playwright, lyricist, composer, and theatre producer (Sarafina!), dies in a car crash at 68 [1]
- Dec 29 Les McCann, American jazz pianist, soul singer ("Compared to What"), painter, and photographer, dies of pneumonia at 88 [1]
Kendrick Lamar
Eminem
XXXTentacion
Tupac Shakur
Nicki Minaj
Coolio