Waka Flocka Flame Despondent After Brother Kayo Redd’s Suicide

Waka Flocka Flame is reportedly despondent after the suicide death of his brother Kayo Redd this past weekend. Redd’s apparent suicide follows the tragic accidental death of another one of Waka’s brothers, and the murder of a close friend.

Redd was found dead of a gunshot, and reports indicate that the aspiring Atlanta rapper had killed himself.

The news came just after Waka Flocka posted posted a tribute to Kayo’s music.

Waka’s mother and hip hop manager Deb Antney confirmed the news on Saturday, telling fans, “I just lost another son.” She had another son who was killed in a car accident when Waka Flocka Flame was 13.

Deb Antney said Waka took that death very hard, blaming himself for the circumstances of the accident.

“Since my son died, that’s when [Waka] flipped. He hated everything dealing with school because my son, his death was a sneak out the house to go help a kid with his homework before his father came home so the kid wouldn’t get a beating. Waka told him to go, he’ll cover for him. So [when he was biking home and killed by a car] Waka blamed hisself. He feels very responsible for my son’s death—that’s what flipped him out.”

This also marks the second tragedy in a little more than two years for Waka Flocka Flame, whose fellow Brick Squad rapper Slim Dunkin was killed in a studio shooting in Atlanta in 2011.

After Kayo’s suicide, fans took to Twitter to send condolences, with the hashtag #RIPKayoRedd trending.

Fellow hip hop artists also shared their grief online. Nicki Minaj, who was once managed by Deb Antney, wrote on Instagram:

“Devastated by the loss of this precious soul… Always so sweet to me… I cant even… Sending prayers and all my love to Deb, Waka, Wooh, Quam, Big Joe, Bimmy, the entire fam… Gone too soon Kayo… Gone way too soon.”

Waka Flocka Flame also posted a slideshow of pictures of his brother and the message “Ya Big Brother love you Kayo.”