Gun violence within the hip-hop community is an unfortunate reality that has claimed the lives of many of its most beloved members. Pop Smoke, King Von, and XXXTentacion have all lost their lives at the hands of gun violence. It is with heavy hearts that we are reporting the passing of VNZA, a Missouri rapper, visual artist and videographer.
According to reports, VNZA, born Vonza Watson, was shot and killed at a busy waterfront bar at the Lake of the Ozarks. The 27-year-old was gunned down Saturday night (May 29) outside Lazy Gators in Lake Ozark. At this time, two of the three possible shooters involved have been taken into custody, but authorities have yet to release any details about the case as they search for the third suspect.
When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered an injured Watson. By that time, the shooters had already fled. He was then taken to a local hospital and subsequently pronounced dead.
The Camden County Sheriff's Office believes over 20 people were filming the incident and vocalized this footage could aid in bringing the assailants to justice.
“We know for a fact there was probably 25 people with camera videos videoing this,” Sheriff Tony R. Helms said. “I know you think that’s great but we think it’s even better if you can get that to us.”
A motive for the killing is still unknown, but authorities confirmed the situation is "still a working homicide." The aspiring artist was originally from Detroit but was residing in the Kansas City area. A SoundCloud bio describes his music as a mix of rap influenced by Jay-Z, J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Nipsey Hussle.
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He's received an outpouring of tributes on social media since the news was confirmed. Our prayers go out to his loved ones.
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