If there’s one thing we can learn from the Titanic, it’s that you should never claim that you’re “unsinkable.” Or in rapper Yung Mazi’s case, “bulletproof.”
Part of the rap/hip hop culture, specifically gangster rap, involves boasting about being shot and surviving. Seen as a badge of honor, a rapper can develop some serious street cred if they’ve been shot and lived. They tried to take you out, but they couldn’t. It’s badass.
One aspiring Atlanta rapper, Yung Mazi, liked to brag about having been shot. A passage in his online biography reads: “He was shot five times – one bullet hitting him in the head and leaving him temporarily brain damaged, almost ending his life.” It goes on to describe the difficulties he had in that condition, and that he “keeps getting shot.” Despite that, he seems to always recover and get back in the game.
That’s why it’s no surprise that, hours after one shooting, that he’d tweet: “God made me bulletproof.”
On August 6, Jabril “Yung Mazi” Abdur-Rahman, 28, was shot once again outside of the Urban Pie pizza shop by an unknown assailant. Police heard the gunshots right outside of Zone 6 headquarters, across the street from Urban Pie, and ran over to investigate.
Upon arriving, they found Yung Mazi with several gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police do not currently have a suspect. The assailant was last seen running west on Hosea L. Williams Drive immediately after the shooting.
Yung Mazi isn’t the only Atlanta rapper to have been shot and killed in the metro. Other local artists such as Bankroll Fresh, Shawty Lo, DJ Nando and others have all been gunned down by unknown shooters. Whether or not this is part of a larger trend is unclear.
Yung Mazi, better known to his friends and family as Jabril, was a father and dedicated community member who was proud of his Muslim heritage. He was a rapper on the rise.
Here’s his last video: