Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), better known by his stage name PnB Rock, was an American rapper and singer. He gained a large following in 2016 with his song "

Selfish Selfishness is being concerned excessively or exclusively, for oneself or one's own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness; and has also been contrasted (as by C. S. Lewis) w ...

", which peaked at number 51 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as his feature on the song "

Cross Me "Cross Me" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran featuring American rappers Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock. It released on 24 May 2019 through Atlantic Records as the second single from the former's compilation album, ''No.6 Collaborat ...

" by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, alongside

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

. He also provided uncredited vocals on

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

's hit single "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

", which reached the top 20 on the same chart. He released two studio albums, ''

Catch These Vibes ''Catch These Vibes'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer PnB Rock. It was released on November 17, 2017, by Atlantic Records. It features guest appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Roy Woods and Smokepurpp, among others ...

'' (2017) and ''

TrapStar Turnt PopStar ''TrapStar Turnt PopStar'' is the second and final studio album by American rapper and singer PnB Rock. The last album to be released during his lifetime, it was released as a double album on May 3, 2019, through Atlantic Records. It features gu ...

'' (2019), the latter of which reached the top five on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. PnB Rock was chosen as part of the 2017 ''XXL'' Freshman Class. On September 12, 2022, PnB Rock was shot and killed at Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles during a robbery in Los Angeles.

Early life

Rakim Hasheem Allen was born on December 9, 1991, in the

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

neighborhood of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, to a Muslim family. Allen's father was murdered when he was three years old. He was primarily raised by his mother. In his teen years, he lived in

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...

. He grew up listening to artists such as rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

and R&B group

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Dalvin DeGrate, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci (singer), K-Ci, and K-Ci and JoJo, JoJo. Formed in 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci's members began their mu ...

. At the age of 13, Allen was sent to a youth detention program for committing robberies and fighting in school. When he turned 19, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for drug possession and other crimes. Allen was homeless for a short period after being released from prison. He never finished high school. Allen later adopted the stage name PnB Rock, which paid homage to Pastorius and Baynton, a street corner near where he grew up in Germantown.

Career

On June 24, 2014, PnB Rock released his debut mixtape, ''Real N*gga Bangaz''. He wrote the mixtape while he was incarcerated. In 2015, PnB Rock signed a record deal with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, and his first project under the label was the release of his third mixtape ''RnB3''. In June 2016, he released the single "

", which peaked at number 51 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In October 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' included him in their list of "10 New Artists You Need to Know". On January 10, 2017, he released his second retail mixtape album, '' GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions'', through Atlantic Records and

Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...

. The album debuted at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Subsequently, in April 2017, he contributed to the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of ''

The Fate of the Furious ''The Fate of the Furious'' (alternatively known as ''F8'' and titled on-screen as ''Fast & Furious 8'' internationally) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Furious 7'' ...

'' with two singles: "

Gang Up "Gang Up" is a song recorded by American rappers Young Thug, 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, and PnB Rock. The track was commissioned for the The Fate of the Furious: The Album, soundtrack of the 2017 action film ''The Fate of the Furious''. "Gang Up", wh ...

" with

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

, and

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

and "

Horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

" with

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single "No Flockin", released in 2014. His debut album, ''Painting Pictures'' (20 ...

and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. In June 2017, PnB Rock was named as one of the ten members of '' XXL'''s "2017 Freshman Class" along with A Boogie wit da Hoodie,

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Carter was initially signed to local underground label Awful Records prior to signing with ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope R ...

Ugly God Royce Cornell Davison-Rodriguez (born September 19, 1996), better known as Ugly God, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2016 song "Water", which peaked at number 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 char ...

Kyle Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

, Aminé,

MadeinTYO Malcolm Jamaal Davis (born April 12, 1992), better known by his stage name MadeinTYO (pronounced Made in Tokyo), is an American rapper and singer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He rose to prominence in 2016 after the release of his single "Uber Everyw ...

Kamaiyah Kamaiyah Jamesha Johnson (born March 13, 1992) is an American rapper and singer from Oakland, California. Her debut mixtape, ''A Good Night in the Ghetto'', was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. In 2017, Kamaiyah was named as one of the ten ...

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is an Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his song " Girlfriend", which peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Early life George Ramirez wa ...

, and

. His debut album ''

'' was released in May 2019. PnB Rock and

were featured on

's song "

" from Sheeran's album '' No.6 Collaborations Project''. In January 2020, PnB Rock released the track "Ordinary" featuring late rapper Pop Smoke and in January 2021, he featured for the late rapper

King Von Dayvon Daquan Bennett (August 9, 1994 – November 6, 2020), known professionally as King Von, was an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He was signed to Lil Durk's record label Only the Family and Empire Distribution. Early life Benn ...

, on a song titled "Rose Gold". In February 2022, PnB Rock released the mixtape ''SoundCloud Daze'' which featured various artists including Pasto Flocco,

Iayze Jace Lavoer Salter (born January 10, 2003), known professionally as iayze (pronounced as "Jace"), is an American rapper from Fort Worth, Texas. He is better known for his song ''556 (Green Tip)'' which received traction on TikTok. He is signed t ...

and Yung Fazo. He independently released " Luv Me Again" on September 2, 2022, which was the last single he released during his lifetime.

Death

On September 12, 2022, PnB Rock was robbed and fatally shot at Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles near Main Street and

Manchester Avenue Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

. He saved his partner, with whom he had a two-year-old daughter, by throwing her under a table. On September 28, 2022, the

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

confirmed that an unnamed 17-year old juvenile had been arrested in connection to the murder, and a 32-year old woman, Shauntel Trone, had been arrested for accessory to murder. The following day, a third suspect was arrested: the 17-year old's father, Freddie Trone. The juvenile and Freddie Trone were charged with one count of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

, two counts of second-degree

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

, and one count of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

to commit robbery. If convicted of the murder charge, the juvenile faces up to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with the possibility of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

, and Freddie Trone faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

Discography

Studio albums *''

'' (2017) *''

'' (2019)

References

External links