It’s safe to say that a lot of people will look at June 18, 2018 as a dark day in hip-hop, considering two rappers were gunned down within 30 minutes of each other — XXXTentacion, 20, and Jimmy Wopo, 21.
Since then, Mike Epps recorded a message to those who equate murdering someone with being tough and although he didn’t mention the slain rappers by name, he blasted those who chase the gangster lifestyle.
“Public service announcement to all the youngsters out there that’s trying to live the gangster life,” Epps began. “Life is precious, it’s short and you have to enjoy every bit of it. You killing for nothing. You ain’t even killing for honor. You ain’t even killing for self-defense. You just killing so somebody will think you’re a killer. But you basically work for the devil … You work for Satan, Lucifer. That’s who you work for when you go around here, got people’s mamas, people crying, that’s who you work for.”
Since XXXTentacion’s murder, police still don’t have any suspects, just some witness accounts of two men fleeing the crime scene in a black SUV.
On Tuesday (June 19), there were at least two memorials that took place for XXX, one in Deer Park, Fla. where he was killed and the other in Los Angeles, where fans closed down the famed Melrose Ave.
In fact, according to TMZ, people jumped off roofs into crowds during the L.A. gathering, they climbed on top of cars and basically caused a mini-riot until police arrived.
In regards to Wopo, it’s been reported that he was about to sign a deal with Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang record label before his murder, and there’s no suspects in that crime either.
But if the person or persons do get caught in either killing and spend the rest of their lives in prison, it’ll be an example of how tragic both situations are, said Epps.
“You think you tough and you end up in the penitentiary,” he said. “You’re going to be in there crying, and you gonna grow old, you gonna be dead too. Now the devil gets two for one. He took a life, and he took your life. Get a grip on it, y’all. Put them pistols down and stop killing for nothing.”
