King Louie, a Chicago based rapper and Kanye West collaborator, has reportedly been shot in the head. The artist's real name is Louis Johnson Jr. He was featured on the Yeezus album song "Send It Up," which helped to cement the word "Chiraq" into the hip-hop vocabulary. Ironically, "Chiraq" refers to the gun violence that occurs on Chicago streets on a daily basis.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Johnson was shot this past Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 23) while riding through the Ashburn neighborhood on Chicago's gritty Southwest Side. The vehicle was located at the 3900 block of West 83rd at 3:30 in the afternoon as reported by both his management and the Chicago police department.
As reported by the police department, Johnson was brought to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, where his condition remains stabilized. His representation additionally said that he is "awake and talking," as well as being responsive to treatment.
The rapper made his name in 2009 with his term "Chiraq," in addition to creating "Drillinois," which refers to the "Drill" hip-hop genre that was performed by rappers Chris Keef, Lil Reese, Lil Durk and G Herbo. Johnson dropped a song called "F*ck Spike Lee" on the same day that the Chiraq film created by a New York based director was released in theaters.
In 2014, Johnson said the the Chicago Sun-Times that, "I called it Chiraq, but I wasn't caring about the Drillings part; I was caring about the drill movement."
Breaking: King Louie's manager confirms he was shot in the head at 83rd and Pulaski earlier today. He's awake and talking.
— Sam Charles (@samjcharles) December 23, 2015
King Louie - the rapper who helped coin the term "Chiraq" - was shot in Chicago this afternoon https://t.co/BkYu8KwGYH — Deck The Walldo (@Walldo) December 23, 2015
SPIN reached out to Johnson representatives about his condition, but have yet to receive more information.
