Swipey, whose real name is Douglas Brooks, was found dead at the scene, outside an apartment complex around 1:00 a.m. on Aug. 21. Police still don’t have a suspect and motive, although they are not under the impression that this act of violence was random, according to the Washington Post.
The 18-year-old was a well-known rap figure in the Washington D.C. area, signed to the record label M.O.P3, and had garnered thousands of online followers. During his short-lived career, he had even performed with better-known artists, including Fat Joe, his manager, Kevin Baldwin, confirms.
Swipey had been signed to M.O.P3 for just about a year at the time of his death, and was being mentored by Kevin. “Basically, I was teaching him,” the record exec explained. “He’d never been on a plane, the first time he went on a plane was with me. He’d never been out of town.”
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Despite growing up in a sometimes “unstable” home, Swipey graduated high school, and even had plans to attend Morgan State University before pursuing his rap career full-time. He released his mixtape, Sorry Not Sorry, on July 16, which included 16 songs. Several of his online videos have amassed hundreds of thousands of views, and he is very clearly going to be missed in the D.C. community.
Just last week, Swipey had performed on DJ 320’s radio show, and made a lasting impression. “He put on a great show and he stayed and shook every kid’s hand and took every picture,” the host explained. “That to me touched my heart. I just feel like it’s a tragedy when someone has no respect for humanity or no respect for life itself.”
HollywoodLifers, are you shocked to hear about Swipey’s death?