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How did Young Greatness die? Truth behind 'botched robbery' when rapper was shot dead

Police had found Young Greatness with gunshot wounds and a car had been stolen from the scene of the crime
UPDATED JUN 29, 2021
 Young Greatness at the ASCAP 2017 Rhythm & Soul Music Awards  (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for ASCAP)
Young Greatness at the ASCAP 2017 Rhythm & Soul Music Awards (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for ASCAP)

For rapper Young Greatness, his star was truly on the rise. Between having his single on music boards to performing on a TV show and being signed on by record labels, it was only a matter of time before the artist turned into a mainstream one, if anything, he was already on the path to success. However, in a horrifically tragic turn of events, the artist's life was abruptly cut short. 

With Grammy-award-winning artist Monica all set to host 'Infamy: When Fame Turns Deadly', the true-crime series that deep dives into multiple high profile cases such as the rappers. If this series makes it to your watch list, you should also consider 'If I Can't Have You: The Jodi Arias Story', 'The Serpent', 'Who Killed My Son?' and 'Finding Yingying'

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Who is Young Greatness?

Born on September 19, 1984, in New Orleans, Theodore Joseph Jones III was popularly known by his stage name Young Greatness. Although born in New Orleans, his family moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina. Growing up, he used to listen to artists like Juvenile, Jay Z and Biggie Smalls. His 2015 single 'Moolah' made it to the Billboard Hot 100, seeing that it peaked at number 85.

He began getting notice from artists like Bun B and Mike Jones, both of whom are popular in the Houston scene. This ultimately resulted in a deal with record label Quality Control Music and Motown in 2015.

In 2016, the rapper was featured in Rolling Stone's '10 New Artists You Need to Know' list. That same year, the rapper went on to perform 'Moolah' on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'. 

Young Greatness accepts an award from Rotimi onstage at the ASCAP 2017 Rhythm & Soul Music Awards (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for ASCAP)

His tragic death

On October 29, 2018, the New Orleans Police Department responded to a call regarding a shooting at 1:35 am in the 2900 block of Elysian Fields Avenue. The crime had taken place near the Waffle House and the cook working at the time claimed that he was the victim run by the restaurant window before collapsing. Police found the then 34-year-old rapper with gunshot wounds and a car had been stolen from the scene of the crime.

Three people were later arrested -- Donald Reaux, 38, Donny Maxwell, 18; and Lovance Wix,16, a juvenile, were indicted on charges of second-degree murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice, as reported by Nola. As reported by Complex in 2019, Young Greatness was in New Orleans at the time, seeing that he was attending a funeral. The attack took place in a parking lot and Reaux, Wix, and Maxwell were identified and captured using the surveillance footage that was found. The New Orleans Police Department described the crime as "a botched robbery", seeing that it was unclear if the suspects knew Young Greatness before targeting him. 

Rapper Young Greatness attends the 2016 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

While the case seems like an armed robbery gone wrong, 'Infamy: When Fame Turns Deadly' deep dives into the details of the same, while going over what exactly happened on that fateful night. 

'Infamy: When Fame Turns Deadly' premieres on Monday, June 7, 2021, at 10 pm ET/PT.

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