For a stretch of time in the mid-2010s, the voice of PnB Rock was inescapable on hip-hop radio. Almost as soon as he arrived on the national scene from Philadelphia, he was in demand, a master of the hip-hop hook, soaring on YFN Lucci’s “Everyday We Lit” and Kodak Black’s sentimental smash “Too Many Years.” Crossover success wasn’t far behind — from his song “Horses” off the “Fate of the Furious” soundtrack and from his 2019 feature alongside Chance the Rapper on Ed Sheeran’s song “Cross Me.”
Fans were drawn to his style of melodic rapping, shining on choruses that burrowed into ears. The emotion and vulnerability in his lyrics resonated too, whether Rock was singing a tribute to the friends he’d lost or a love song to the woman on his mind.
“He made honest music that reflected how a lot of us feel in this city and how a lot of us have felt for a long time,” said John Morrison, a writer and DJ from Philadelphia whose work has appeared on NPR, Bandcamp Daily and more. “Folks in my age group, folks younger than me, across the board.”
Monday afternoon, however, PnB Rock became the latest artist to fall victim to gun violence in Los Angeles. While eating with his girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang, at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in South L.A., an unknown assailant tried to rob him of his jewelry and shot him multiple times before running out a side door.
Less than an hour after the shooting, Rock, 30, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A suspect hasn’t been named.
Fans, collaborators and industry figures mourned the death of yet another young hip-hop artist. Many also decried the gruesome video of his final moments that rapidly spread on Twitter.
”READ FULL ARTICLE: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-09-13/pnb-rock-rapper-roscoes-killed-philadephia
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