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On the 14th floor of a Chicago hotel room, I met the rapper's friends to talk about his death. Among them was Vaughn, a hulking but friendly guy with close cropped hair who downed a plastic container full of barbecue teetering on a bedside table as he spoke. Shaquon's manager, who arranged the meeting, was there, and so was a man with long dreads and a silent demeanor who was referred to only as "The Guv." Eventually Shaquon's brothers, Budd and Trey, showed up.
They all painted a picture of a rapper on the rise, gunned down just before he was able to break away from the streets."We had him to a certain plateau, but we couldn't keep him in the studio because he kept getting locked up every time he step outside," said Vaughn."We had him to a certain plateau, but we couldn't keep him in the studio because he kept getting locked up every time he step outside." -Morocco Vaughn
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"When did that ever become something new in the rap game?" Ingrid asked of her son's alternate musical identity. "They lie, they build up a persona to get people to buy into the image so they can make money."Eazy E. Ice Cube. Dre. Snoop—there's even a Hollywood biopic out about them this summer."They rapped about killing police and now people kiss they feet 'cause they filthy rich," Ingrid said.Maybe Budd will get in on the action. Throughout our meeting, he didn't say much about his fallen brother, except that Shaquon was a "dynamic," funny and outspoken person, a talented rapper, and a loyal brother and friend. Budd recently dropped a new track, a tribute to Shaquon, that he hopes will be just the first of many steps in carrying on his brother's musical legacy.While he didn't really open up about Shaquon and the feelings he must possess regarding his brother's death, he did express his mentality going forward."One thing about our family and one thing about Pappy is we don't fear nothing," Budd said. "We don't believe in that. Nah, we don't."Follow Justin Glawe on Twitter."When did that ever become something new in the rap game? They lie, they build up a persona to get people to buy into the image so they can make money." -Ingrid Thomas