‘Pop, Lock & Drop It’ rapper Huey, 32, killed in Missouri double shooting, Internet pays tearful tribute
KINLOCH, MISSOURI: A famous St Louis rapper was the victim of a double shooting on the night of June 25.
According to a report by the St Louis Post-Dispatch, the shooting occurred just before 11 pm in the 8100 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard in the city of Kinloch. The victim, Lawrence Franks Jr aka Huey — a native of Kinloch — was best known for his 2006 debut single "Pop, Lock & Drop It" which made waves in the rap community.
The victim was initially identified by St Louis County police only as a 32-year-old man, but social media was inundated with reports of his death and an outpouring of condolences from relatives, well-wishers, and fans of Huey.
Former state Rep Bruce Franks Jr, a local activist fighting gun violence who is known in the community as the 'St Louis Superman', tweeted, "They killed my lil cousin."
“The last time we performed together! Y’all knew him as Huey, to his loved ones he was LJ! My lil cousin! Rest Easy!” he added.
Meanwhile, Jaylien Wesley, a producer-and-songwriter based in St Louis, said he couldn't help but "shed a few" at the tragic news. “My dawg Huey is gone forever,” he tweeted, saying, “Ima help keep your spirit alive down here. much much love forever.”
DJ Boogie Corleone took to Instagram and shared that the news had "hit hard." “Rest well my friend,” he wrote in a tribute.
The victim died at a hospital after having been shot at least once, authorities said. The second victim, a 21-year-old man who wasn't named, went to the Ferguson Police Department at 222 South Florissant Road after being shot, according to St Louis County police Sgt Benjamin Granda. His injuries were considered non-life-threatening, Granda added.
The duo was shot in the front year of a residence in the 8100 block of Martin Luther King, it emerged. While St Louis County police detectives are currently investigating the incident, they are yet to released details about a possible motive or if they have any suspects.
St Louis Post Dispatch reporters saw a crime-scene tape put up in an area including a home at 8173 Martin Luther King Boulevard, which is listed in online records as the residence of Lawrence Franks Jr. while St. Louis County property records list the home's owner as Otis Hughes.
Pop music critic Kevin C Johnson wrote in a Post-Dispatch article in 2013 that "Pop, Lock & Drop It" was the 2006 debut single from Huey’s 2007 album “Notebook Paper". The single made it straight to the top 10 and made Huey one of a wave of St Louis rappers who gained prominence after the likes of Nelly and Chingy. He signed a deal with rapper Waka Flocka Flame in 2013.
Huey, who has a teenage daughter Lawryn, attended Berkeley High School and McCluer High School before earning his GED, per the paper. He was the youngest of four children. "It was really rough," he told the Post-Dispatch. "My mama and daddy were on drugs. My brother was in and out of jail. The foster people were chasing me. It was crazy."
Huey was scheduled to film a new video this weekend, per the paper.
