Police believe rapper and podcaster Gillie Da King’s son YNG Cheese was killed in a shooting on Thursday night.
Devin Spady, also known as YNG Cheese, was shot in the back just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday when shots were fired on the 5800 block of North Mascher Street. Officers responding to the scene found the 25-year-old unresponsive, and rushed him to Einstein Medical Center, where he died shortly upon arrival.
Around the corner, police also located a 28-year-old man, shot twice the leg, and drove him to Einstein. A third victim, a 31-year-old shot in the hip, arrived at the hospital in a private car, police said. Both are in stable condition.
Video from the scene shows that a group of men were having a conversation on the corner of West Nedro Avenue and North Mascher Street when they heard gunshots and started running, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore. At least 10 shots were fired, he said.
Vanore said he wasn’t sure whether the shots were fired from someone in the group or further down the block.
The motive remains unclear, and no weapon has been recovered or arrest made, Vanore said.
Spady was the father to a young son, according to his social media, and he was following in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in music.
His father, Gillie Da Kid, born Nasir Fard, rose to fame in the late 90s as a founding member of the hip hop group Major Figgas from the Erie Avenue section of North Philadelphia.
Fard — who now goes by Gillie da King — hosts “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” a weekly podcast with childhood friend and social media influencer Wallo, who was also a member of Major Figgas. The podcast has more than 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube.
On Instagram Friday morning, Wallo posted a tribute to his friend’s son, writing that “usually when I talk to you, I got a lot to tell you. Tonight the pain in my heart & tears spoke to you. I love you beyond life Cheese. I got your father, Rest Well!”
Wallo and Gillie were supposed to guest host the popular New York radio show The Breakfast Club Friday morning before tragedy struck, the show’s hosts said.
“As much as Wallo and Gillie do for the community in Philadelphia, as much as they pour into these young brothers and try to stray them away from killing each other and gun violence, to have his son be a victim of gun violence is tragic and a reminder that life, indeed, is not fair,” said host Lenard McKelvey, aka Charlamagne tha God.
