WASHINGTON, DC (CelebrityAccess) – Rising DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) rapper 23 Rackz (born Justin Johnson) was fatally shot last week in Southeast DC after listing his location in an Instagram post. He was 16 years old.
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“Nobody could get him to stay off the streets,” Michael Johnson, father of the slain rapper told FOX 5 about the late 16-year-old. “I’d go to work, and he’d be gone when I come home. So we had a relationship of me trying to get him off the streets and him thinking, once he got money off his hands, he was gone. And as far as guns on the street, he had been arrested one time for a gun, but DC won’t hold those kids. I begged the judges, and probation officer (PO), to keep him. Just keep him. But the next day, he was home. It’s so easy for these kids to get guns, it really is.”
Johnson signed with MGE in 2020 and released his debut album, Rookie of the Year in 2021. He received co-signs from hip hop names such as Akademiks and DMV artist Wale, who paid tribute.
💔 I don’t even know what to say . I’m so sorry little brother . pic.twitter.com/K8uv60raAC
— Wale (@Wale) May 26, 2022
Justin’s manager also mourned the loss of his protege.
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“It’s hard to see on social media that you know, he’s really gone and I see a lot of comments on social media saying like, ‘Oh well he was in the streets at 16 and he didn’t go to school, and this and that,’” his older sister, Jamesa Hall, said to The Complex. “He was an honor roll student. They skipped him a grade. Like he was street smart and book smart. He was well before his time. A lot of people have different perceptions of him, but at the end of the day, with us at home, he was just a regular 16-year-old. It was never 23 Rackz in the house.”
A candlelight tribute is being planned for tonight (June 3) at 23rd and Savannah Terrace at 6:30 pm with blue and white balloons.
No arrests have been made in the shooting as of press time. DC Police are offering $25,000 to anyone who provides information leading to a conviction.
