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Rapper Huey has died aged 31, following a shooting incident in St Louis.
The rapper, who made his name on the 2006 hit ‘Pop, Lock and Drop It’, was shot and killed in Kinloch, a suburb of St Louis according to local reports.
A spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Department later confirmed to Fox News that Huey was shot and killed outside of a home in the 8100 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Kinloch.
As reported on Fox 2 Now, Huey – who was born Lawrence Franks Jr – was taken to hospital on Thursday evening (June 25) but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police received a call around 10:50 on June 25 that a man had entered a nearby hospital suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead soon after.
Another man, 21, was also shot in the incident according to reports and is expected to survive.
Police have also reported that as many as 10 other individuals were present at the time of the shooting. They are urging people with information to come forward.
Music executive William “Quayshaun” Carter, who worked with Huey in the 2010s, confirmed the news of Huey’s death to Pitchfork.
Carter said: “He was a good kid. He was raised on the streets and he chose to do something different. He’d just started another business – he was getting into upscale clothing, and it was working out, and he was happy.”
He added: “His passing is a tragic loss to the hip-hop world. He was a part of hip-hop history.”
Huey recorded ‘Pop, Lock and Drop It’ whilst still in his teens and he was offered a record deal with Jive Records on the back of the track.
Speaking about the track at the time, Huey said: “I was never that guy — that ‘Pop, Lock & Drop It’ guy. That was just a record that worked.
“I never thought it would be the record for me, but it was. And with that happening, it got in the way of what I wanted to be looked at as.”
His debut album, ‘Notebook’ followed in 2007 and saw Huey collaborating with artists including Trey Songz, Lloyd, and Yo Gotti.
Huey released a second album, ‘Redemption’ in 2010 before signing a new deal with Waka Flocka Flame’s Brick Squad label in 2013.
This is a breaking news story – updates to follow
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