Smoke Dawg has been shot and killed in Toronto.
Tributes have been paid to the Canadian rapper on social media following a triple shooting outside a club on Saturday night.
“I wish peace would wash over our city,” Drake wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of the 21-year-old, whose real name is Jahvante Smart.
“So much talent and so many stories we never got to see play out. Rest up Smoke,” he said.
The rapper toured Europe with Drake during his 2017 Boy Meets World tour, and has previously collaborated with Skepta on Overseas.
Police confirmed that Smoke Dawg and 28-year-old Koba Prime, real name Ernest Modekwe, were killed on Saturday.
A third person was injured in the shooting, with an unnamed woman expected to recover from her injuries.
“Jahvante touched the lives of many fans not only in Toronto but around the world,” a statement from Smoke Dawg’s family said.
“Music was able to let him travel the world and chase his dream of becoming a super star.”
Murda Beatz, who produced Drake’s Nice For What, posted about losing his “brothers”.
At the moment, it’s still not clear whether this was a targeted killing.
But some fans are speculating that it might be linked to a recent music video he made – supposedly opposite a rival rap gang’s housing project.
“He fully shot a vid on an opp block and dissed dem,” reads one comment, reported by CBC.
“He dissed a whole gang and shot a music video on there (sic) block dissing them,” reads another.
Prominent artists both in the UK and Canada have been paying tribute.
Smoke Dawg was part of Halal Gang and appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Fire in the Booth in 2017.
His family said he leaves behind a one-year-old daughter, his parents, and 13 siblings.
His death comes less than two weeks after rapper XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Florida.
Source: BBC