A gunman took aim at Chicago-born rapper Chief Keef outside the W Hotel in Times Square at about 5 a.m. on Saturday, but missed and hit the building instead, according to police. They recovered the slug from the building and are still searching for two men who were seen fleeing the scene. Chief Keef had left the scene by the time police arrived and is currently in Los Angeles.
The rapper was in town to promote an album he just released last month that’s titled The Glo Files . New York Daily News reports that the people from Glory Boyz Entertainment, who were traveling with him, are also unharmed. A rep for Chief Keef, whose real name is Keith Farrelle Cozart, said the performer remains unfazed by the shooting.
“Despite today’s recent events Keef’s main focus is continuing to release quality music and finishing up his upcoming projects.”
The rapper is pointing to Bushwick-born rapper Tekashi69 for the day’s events. The two have been in a social media feud since Chief Keef was featured on the Trippie Reddie song, “I Kill People.” The song threatens Tekashi69, who responded to song with an Instagram video that questioned Keef’s street cred. The video has been removed from Instagram.
Chief Keef blames NYC shooting on feud with rival rapper https://t.co/ay7gfMrSpB pic.twitter.com/8Wf5pgeKL4
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 2, 2018
At 4:15 a.m. Saturday, Keef posted a photo to Instagram in which he is standing outside a business that sells papaya juice and hot dogs with the caption, “I’m hungry.” About half an hour later, Page Six reports that the 22-year-old rapper says he was confronted by two would-be gunmen as he headed upstairs to his room in the W Hotel. It shook him a bit, and he couldn’t decide how he should react, so he went to his room to cool off.
He says he was in his room for a couple of hours and that the men were waiting for him when he came out. He said that although only one man shot, they each had a gun. He believes they were there on behalf of Tekashi69.
When news of the shooting spread, the response of Instagram followers was mixed, with some doubting its seriousness and some encouraging Chief to stay strong. Still, others seized on the belief that the attack was coordinated by Tekashi69 and tried to feed the feud.
Chief Keef faced legal problems in January, 2017, when he was arrested in Los Angeles on charges of allegedly beating and robbing Ramsay Tha Great, his former producer, while in possession of an AK-47.
“Significant issues with key witnesses” led to the case being dropped.