Kausion rapper Gonzoe dies aged 45 after Seattle shooting

Gonzoe was fatally shot in Seattle on Thursday (Picture: Instagram)

Friends and colleagues of hip-hop star Gonzoe have identified him as the victim of a fatal shooting in Seattle.

A man was shot just before 8pm on Thursday night in the 2800 block of Southwest Roxbury Street, near Roxhill Park and a Safeway, with authorities converging at a Shell garage nearby. 

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Centre with life-threatening injuries, with King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Tim Meyer confirming that he died overnight.

While police did not identify the victim, friends of Gonzoe, 45, confirmed that he had died on Friday.

Problem tweeted: ‘RIP GONZOE’, while rapper Crooked I wrote: ‘REST IN POWER GONZOE.’

Quip shared Gonzoe’s song with Richie Rich, The Truth, and tweeted: ‘rip Gonzoe.. His IG posts were inspirational.. My favorite verse he spit right here.. Salute..’

RapBay, which worked with Gonzoe on his latest releases, wrote on Facebook: ‘It’s with extremely heavy hearts that we post this. Rest In Peace @iamgonzoe 💔💔💔You will be greatly missed. This hurts. Straight up tragic. Prayers to his family. Our hearts are very heavy. #Gonzoe has been part of our music family for over a decade. Such a tragedy.’

Fans also left messages on Gonzoe’s last Instagram post, which was shared shortly before his death.

Gonzoe, real name Ronald Moore, shot to fame in the LA rap scene when he formed the rap trio Kausion in the early 90s with friends Cel and Kaydo.

The group was signed to Ice Cube’s label Lench Mob Records in 1995, and the rapper collaborated with Kausion on their debut single, What You Wanna Do?.

Kausion released their debut album South Central Los Skanless the same year, but left Lench Mob Records in 1996 due to disagreements with Ice Cube.

Gonzoe went solo and later signed with Death Row Records, where he became close friends with Tupac Shakur, who had signed to the label in 1995.

The pair went on tour together and collaborated on a number of songs, including Die and This Life I Lead, with Tupac nicknaming the rapper ‘Young Ritzy Outlaw’.

Tupac died aged 25 in 1996, after being shot four times in a drive-by shooting by an unknown assailant. 

Gonzoe later formed a new group, The Regime, as well as joining Outlawz, the group formed by Tupac before his death.

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However, he soon left both groups and concentrated on his solo career.

Gonzoe’s last solo album, Tha Code, was released in 2017, and featured collaborations with C Mob and Daff. 

He also released a six-track EP earlier this year with Cel and Kaydo under the Kausion name, Masters Massacre. 

Metro.co.uk has approached Gonzoe’s reps and King County police for comment.

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