We have yet another death to report today, and if you’re as tired of reading about them as I am of having to write about them, then we all need to agree that something has got to change. Rakim Hasheem Allen, known to his fans as PnB Rock, was only 30 years old when he was fatally shot at a Roscoe’s location in Los Angeles on September 12th, 2022. Allen was apparently targeted for his jewelry and other valuables, with the robber demanding them at gunpoint and firing several shots regardless of whether or not Allen gave them up. He initially survived the shooting but later succumbed to his wounds while being treated at the hospital at 1:59 PM local time.

The most gruesome part of this for me personally is that bystanders were filming the aftermath and sharing the videos on social media. I can’t even fathom how your first instinct is to see someone shot in front of you, perhaps fatally, and think “I’ve got to upload this for the likes and retweets.” It’s disgusting that he was shot and killed in an armed robbery but almost as disgusting that people attempted to profit from it either by capturing footage to sell or uploading it immediately for social clout. This is absolutely the worst, most base instincts of humanity on display, and the depraved people who uploaded it wouldn’t feel the same way if it was their family or loved one who had been shot.

While PnB Rock certainly had a notable career as a solo artist, he was equally well known for his collaborations with other people, such as the viral “Everyday We Lit” with YFN Lucci. The video for the song has almost 200 million videos as of this writing and unfortunately like every other tragedy in rap those numbers will probably go up after his demise. He has two daughters without a father now, one of whom he shared with current girlfriend Stephanie Sibounheuang, who unfortunately was there to see this whole thing go down. I can’t begin to imagine how traumatized she is or how she’s going to explain this to their child together. Everything about this sucks.

It just goes to show how fleeting life is in the rap fast lane when another of his hit songs is “Middle Child” featuring XXXTentacion, and he too was shot and killed in an armed robbery. Watch this video and tell me that it doesn’t bother you that neither the star nor co-star of the track are here today. In fact the song was released posthumously so X didn’t even live to see its success. As I said to open this article, we all need to agree that something has to change, but until we find a way to make that change a reality I’m going to keep writing articles like this month after month. Rest In Power to Rakim Hasheem Allen.