For the second year in a row, the music community has the unenviable title of Charlotte’s first murder of the year. In 2011 it was music photographer Chris Radok. This year it was Str8 Drop Gang rapper Brandon Covington, also known as “Beezo.”
Beezo, 19, was shot just before 2 a.m. on Sunday morning after the group had premiered its video at the club Backstage on New Year’s Eve. His eerily prophetic last Tweet, written on Dec. 31, states: “I dont know what you do for yo respect but ima die for mine”
A WCNC report quotes the band’s manager, Lushawn Williams, as saying, “Music was his outlet. He rapped about what he saw, not what he did. People go through struggles. You’ve got to figure a way to get out of it, to get a better hold on it.”
The group, which has a mixtape planned for release on Jan. 20, has created T-shirts with a photo of Beezo in hopes of raising money to help with funeral costs. A candlelight vigil is planned for Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at Eastland Mall. The group and the local media production company, Purple Cardinal, are working on a tribute video.
Police have released a photo about a Mitsubishi Montero they believe might be tied to the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to Homicide Unit Detective Abbott or Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.
Here’s the group’s video for “Pay Back”:
This article appears in Jan 3-9, 2012.
It’s hard not to connect the negativity and violence portrayed in the video with the incident that left this young man dead. The song is barely listenable. Maybe if these men put their talents into creating more positive entertainment, the cycle of violence would come closer to ending. Adding “RIP Beezo” to some t-shirts and a youtube video means little if you do nothing prevent such acts in the first place.
Wow!! guess he got caught slipping?wow..so much more he could have rapped about.and you wonder what wrong with our youth Today.positive brings positive
One of the guys in that video was involved in a shooting? Shocking.
Never judge a book by its cover…Brandon was a loving, caring individual who was the victim of a fxcked up but tragic situation. You can’t judge a person by the lyrics they write cause at the end of the day its really about what sells and whatever it takes to get that deal. Just because he isn’t rapping about riding horses, picking flowers, etc that doesn’t make him a bad person.
This has got 2 be the worst video ive ever seen. I can’t beleive they have a small kid, with a gun in hand along with all bad cussing, pants looking all indecent. Young boys like these wonder why they can’t get jobs, and is always stereotyped. they got no respect 4 themselves, and get very angry when someone disrepect them . They want to pull, out the guns and kill if something is said that don’t like, or look @ them the wrong way. I’m so sorry that young boy had to die such ahorrible death,@ such a young age.when is our kids going to learn that negative words and negative actions leads to become very bad out comes, such as this. How much longer, and how many more of our kids, has to die from the negative, which they have created for themselves, and for generations under them.I think we need a transition program for our children to teach them how to properly become a man from a boy and woman from being a girl. We need to change the way our kids are becoming adults, they need help.We are losing so many of our children from foolishness and nonsense.I pray to God for a change and help us to save our children. No other kids should see this video or any others videos like it. This video should be banned. My heart goes out to this young mans family,may God gives you the strength to go thur this, and to ur sons friends, i pray that God Bless them to learn a more positive out look on their lives and younger ones that look up to them, so our kids can LIVE!!!!!!!
Listen don’t be a smartass about someone’s death! They are making music about what they know and what they’ve been through everyone isn’t fortunate enough to live the American dream living in a nice home with a white picket fence and both parents. They are talking about THEIR REALITY …if it’d soooo negative don’t talk help make a change its simple. You don’t know beezo or what him or anyone else in that video has been through so don’t be sarcastic please! Cause I can get ignorant along with you. Rip Brandon we love you #longlivebeezo
All of these judgmental posts. Hate to be the bearer of bad-news to any of you Mothers, Fathers, Parents, and so called “Adults” commenting anonymously from your warm computer chairs. If any one of you were put in this situation your world would be completely turned upside down in an instant. Now, most of the people who read this story with no relation to the victim, families, etc are going to hop on the “defensive” bandwagon as you feel like this is making your life & community no longer safe. You want to nitpick the problem as you ‘see’ it, which is another murdered young man in the ‘hood’ who has a criminal record. So quick to snap a judgement towards the victim instead of the suspect who of course has not been found or shown on television. Because that’s the only person you can choose to bash right? Have you turned on a TV in the past 5 years to ANY music & entertainment station other than Comedy Central, MTV, or Nick at Nite? Turn on a local radio station, log on to a local music site, take a look at the community. People talk about & make music reflecting what they see and relate to in their personal life. This is a GENRE. Plain & Simple. Your opinions tenfold will never take this genre of music out of existence, nor will your opinions better your life or community. The video was made as a story to a particular song, with particular controversial elements, and raw truth through the lyrics. While the behavior is not condoned by viewers, it is expressed by people who see nothing but this life on a daily basis. It all boils down to the fact that this was SOMEONE’S son, nephew, brother, and friend who was murdered in vain. This man was celebrating New Years as any normal teenager would have. Is that his fault? No, this shouldn’t be happening. But who are we to judge? If this was an element of your life, you would be on their side. I agree, this shouldn’t happen NO MATTER WHAT. But picking & choosing reasons of the crime with ONLY the victim in mind is lowly irrational, and although many of you say these people^^ are the problem, what are you REALLY doing to help it besides commenting your opinion on a message board?
He said multiple times in the “song” that he was ready to die… He also threatened “war” if anyone tried him with his “chopper” and his “Nine”. Sounds like he was quite literally asking for someone to kill him… Ooops. Maybe he should have rapped about winning the lottery!
So these young thugs are posting an address (see the video)
One wonders if these hoodlums threatened that home owner and are now posting it to the web. Idiots.
Oh, and you apologists – If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it is a duck.
YOU KNOW WHAT FUCK ALL YALL MUTHA FUCKIN CRACKERS DAT GOT SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT MY BROTHER!!!!!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!! AND TO THE BITCH THAT SAID HE GOT CAUGHT SLIPPING BITCH LET ME FIND OUT WHERE DA FUCK YOU STAY!!!!! YOU DONT KNOW MY BROTHER WORTH SHIT SO KEEP YA COMMENT TO YO MUTHA FUCKIN SELF!!! NONE OF YALL KNEW MY BROTHER SO KEEP YA COMMENTS TO YA DAMN SELF!! AND BITCH YOUR NAME IS A MOTHER THAT LOST A CHILD WELL NEWS FLASH MY MOM JUST LOST HER BABY AND YOU TALKING NEGATIVE??? FUCK YOU AND ALL YALL!!!!!! MY NAME JASMINE COVINGTON BITCH!!!!!!!GOOGLE ME PLEASE FIND ME FACEBOOK ME PLEASE DO!!!!TALK DAT SHIT TO ME.
AND IF YOU TALKING THAT SHIT TO MY BEST FRIEND THEN TALK IT TO ME TOO…. DAMN YOU WHITE PEOPLE JUSR DON’T FUCKN GET IT…. WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR CHILD TO THE STREETS THEN YOU’LL UNDERSTAND. YOU CAN SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT TO AT LEAST HE DIED FOR HIS RESPECT AND THATS SOMETHING NO ONE CAN EVER SAY. SO PLEASE KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND IF ITS NOT YOUR BUSINESS THEN STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT. HE LEFT A SISTER, MOM, BROTHER, FRIENDS, FAMILY, ETC. SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU IGNORANT ASS PEOPLE!!!!!!
All right – communicating threats, cussing, rascist language, all CAPS. What a class act. It’s people like you that are the problem.
Mr. McDonald, this girl just lost her brother. A compassionate person might consider the possibility that she has reason to be upset.
Charlotte Mecklenburg arrest records for Mr Brandon Covington…
http://arrestinquiryweb.co.mecklenburg.nc.…
How any of you feel about Beezo’s life is irrelevant, the fact still remains a young man celebrating a new year, was murder for no apparent reason. Beezo was a son, brother, friend, and soon to be FARTHER, regardless of the words he put into his RAPS he still was an individual! Quite frankly FUCK how you feel about him, the impact this one person has on so many terminates any ill thoughts or feelings toward him! #LongLiveBeezo!
“Mr. Mcdonald” The internet can do amazing things
This one’s for you, Bruce McDonald. From Randy Newman’s “Rednecks”: “We got no-necked oilmen from Texas, And good ol’ boys from Tennessee, And college men from LSU, Went in dumb. Come out dumb, too. Hustlin’ ’round Atlanta in their alligator shoes, Gettin’ drunk every weekend at the barbecues, And they’re keepin’ the n*****s down.”
“We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks, We don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground…”
Nobody deserves to die. He was obviously writing about what he saw around him every single day. Not everybody gets the privilege of growing up in a nice, peaceful neighborhood where nothing ever goes wrong. Most of you wouldn’t last a day on those streets, most of you would give up or get eaten alive. And besides music is about expression and it’s a way to get all of your bottled up feelings out. Just because none of you guys ever picked up an instrument or wrote a song in your life doesn’t mean you have to knock somebody else for saying what they see and feel. It makes you look ignorant. And please spare me the “positive brings positive” BS because plenty of bad people get very far in this world and plenty of good people get walked all over their whole lives. If you actually believe that then you aren’t living in the real world.
This is straight IGNORANCE the point is this young man is dead! I was there and nobody deserves to be laid out on the concrete like that bleeding. I can’t believe yall are going to sit there and judge him off of rap lyrics its a SONG no matter what he said he was a human being and he was loved by people! What if you came from nothing? Yall wouldn’t last a day where we’re from. None of you are God who are you to judge someone you don’t know! I can’t believe people are this ignorant. #LONGLIVEBEEZO R.I.P.
In death we are remembered for how we LIVED but rarely ever for how we died. Who can say what type of life Brandon Covington lived?… Can a video tell you? Can a police report? Can his death!? We are all products of our environment not the excuses of it. When you die what will you be remembered for? Rather, who will remember you and for what??? How did you treat people? To whom did you offer bread and shelter??? For to love a friend is easy, but to love an enemy is gain victory! Love Brandon Covington for being a Human who lost his LIFE. Who cares what he did, he cant do it anymore.
OH FUCKN KAY SO MANY PPL GOT SO MUCH TO SAY BOUT A FUCKIN VIDEO THAT BRANDON MADE WTF JUST CUZ HE RAP BOUT HIS LIFE AND TE SHIT HE SEE IN THE STREETS IS EAST CHARLOTTE REALLY DNT MEAN SHIT MY NIGGA GOT KILLD FOR NOTHING AND TODAY WE PUT HIM TO REST SO YU SORRY DUMB ASS FUCKERS NEED TO LET HIM REST WHO CARES BOUT WHAT THE FUCK HE WENT TO JAIL FOR I MEAN I SEE 1000 OF WHITE PPL GOIN TO JAIL FOR THE SAME SHIT I SEE 1000 OF WHITE PPL DOIN WORST THEN BRANDON…WHAT HE DID AINT NO WORST WEN THESE LIL WHITE HOES GO OUT FUCKN WIT ANYBODY AND COME UP MISSIN WTF…BRANDON IS A SON A BORTHER A DADDY AND A FRIEND TO MANY…
NOTE TO BRANDON..
WE MISS YU SO MUCH ON THE EAST FRM YA SMILE THE WAY YU LAUGH TO ALL YA JOKES {{even ya big nose lol}} IM NEVER GON FORGET ALL THE TIMES YU SHAQ DAI DAI AND ROMAIN CAME OVA ALL THE TIMES I PLAYED ON YU AND SHAQ PHNES AND YU A SAY SUS I KNO THIS YU AND WE A JUST LAUGH HAAHA GOOD TIMES NO MATTER HW MANY HATERS YU STILL GOT ON THIS EARTH FRM PPL THE NEW YU TO THE ONES THAT NEVER SAW YU….ITS A 10000000000 MORE THAT MISS AND LOVE YU
#LONGLIVEBEEZO
Whats up with people saying he “lived the street”… what street? that video was shot on a dirt road!!! These country ass bumpkins dont know anything about street! Theyre from charlotte for petes sake! How much more country do you get?!?! these guys were “playing gangster” and someone took it too far. And i love how CL tries to act like charlotte has some sort of music scene, and “big city” problems… Lets be real here.
Yall Talkin Krazy Over Music Really Its just A Song We All Been throug Some Shit B Was Just Speakin On His Life. Beezo Got Killed Ova Some Stupid Shit I Was Just Inside The klub Wit B Drinkin And Feeling Good And Go Outside And See My Nigga Layed Out On The Murder Got my Head All Fucked Up !! #LONGLIVEBEEZO !!!!
This is sad a shows how ignorant people can be… It doesn’t matter if he was rapping about guns or finding pennies on the ground he was just trying to find a way out to a better life for his family and friends and lost his life in the process…. You cant judge someone’s hustle if you don’t know their struggle and now someone is without a son, brother and he’s child never even got to meet him… Show some compassion people and besides who are you to judge anyone ? Only God can judge and that obviously is NOT you .
I just read some off the dumbest…Who post a dead man’s arrest for speeding? Did that make him a thug? You are supposed to be a grown man….well act like it and show some class. To this young ones family, I’m so sorry for your lose. I know there’s nothing I can really say to help ease your pain but just know that people are praying for you and your family. Being apart of a Stop the Violence group..it’s hard to watch the destruction in our communities. Everyone has guns and these young people are pulling them and squeezing the trigger so easily. I will never understand how so many people get that angry that they want to take lives over nothing. It’s not the music that’s killing. To you ignorant clowns that keep talking about rap this and rap that…have you ever listened to music that someone didn’t like. Did Rock make you a devil worshipper? It’s just someone’s music…YOUNG PEOPLE THIS WON’T STOP UNTIL YOU DO SOMETHING! There is help out here for you..the police can’t stop it and won’t move unless there is a murder or an incident. You need to think past that moment. Stop throwing away your lives and ruining life for so many including your family.