Philly rapper PnB Rock wanted fans to know the First State wasn’t just special because it lacked sales tax.
“I (*&%$) wit Delaware lol y’all got the Badd b-tches,” the rapper posted on Twitter on July 24, 2016.
PnB Rock, born Rakim Hasheem Allen, will never get a chance to tweet any other thoughts about the Small Wonder because he died Monday after being shot during a robbery at a Los Angeles restaurant.
The rapper was 30.
The Los Angeles Times reported the gunman who killed PnB at the Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles restaurant demanded jewelry and other valuables before getting into a struggle with the rapper and opening fire, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday.
Since Rock’s death, photos of him performing at Firefly Music Festival in 2018, in a yellow rooster T-shirt, are circulating all over the internet.
Firefly’s strongest lineup for rap acts was arguably in 2018, when artists Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and PnB Rock gigged in The Woodlands of Dover.
PnB lived up to his name that year and rocked thousands of screaming fans from the Backyard stage during a late evening set.
Firefly fan: ‘Awfully sad news’
On the Firefly Music Festival Fan Page on Facebook, a fan announced the rapper’s tragic death Monday night. Another posted a short video of his Firefly performance.
“Went through my old videos, I was sitting back in the grass watching him perform. Awfully sad news,” one grieving fan wrote.
“Over some jewelry … So sad!” an angry person commented.
Songs with Lil Wayne, Firefly alum
Beyond performing in The Woodlands, PnB Rock also recorded songs with a host of former Firefly artists.
This includes tunes with festival alumni Lil Wayne (“T-Shirt”), Diplo (“Swervin’”), Fetty Wap (“Spend the Night”), Roddy Ricch (“Evolved”) and Wiz Khalifa (“TTM”).
PnB Rock was praised in 2017 when he was featured as part of XXL magazine’s popular Freshman Class issue.
He made noise on his two studio albums, “Catch These Vibes” in 2017 and 2019’s “TrapStar Turnt PopStar,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard rap chart and, signifying breakthrough mainstream success, No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The release featured guest appearances from Migos’ Quavo, Diplo and Tory Lanez, while a subsequent deluxe version offered features from Lil Wayne and Roddy Ricch.
Rock and partner Stephanie Sibounheuang spent their Sunday attending a wedding together, according to posts on their Instagram stories.
He is survived by their 2-year-old daughter, Zuri, as well as daughter Milan from a previous relationship.
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
USA Today reporters Hannah Yasharoff Melissa Ruggieri contributed to this report.
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