The hip-hop community was shaken up Thursday (March 20) when Dallas rapper Yella Beezy was arrested and charged with capital murder, stemming from his alleged involvement in the 2020 killing of fellow Texas wordsmith Mo3. Beezy, whose real name is Abdulrahman S. Mola, is being held at the Dallas County jail, charged with knowingly and intentionally causing the death of Mo3, whose real name was Melvin Noble. No bond has been set on his release as of this moment.
Mo3’s killing shocked the rap world when he was shot to death on a Dallas interstate in November 2020, only days after the fatal shooting of King Von in Atlanta. With a raw gift for storytelling and deep ties to his fanbase, Mo3 was just 28 when his life was cut short.
The case has been under investigation, and two other people have already been said to have been involved in the crime. In February 2020, a Dallas County grand jury indicted 22-year-old Kewon White on charges of Mo3’s murder. A grand jury indicted 28-year-old Devin Brown in April of that year. Details of their involvement suggested a crime: a jealous rage inspired by social media drama.
On Dallas News reports, Brown was angry about a Facebook video of Mo3 with a woman identified as “a known witness.” That personal conflict appears to have been central in the lead-up to Mo3’s death, authorities say. While Brown denied any involvement in the shooting at first, police say cellphone records put White around the apartment where Mo3 spent the night before he was killed. Call logs also showed multiple communications between Brown and White in the days leading up to the incident, suggesting it was premeditated.
Brown was convicted after pleading guilty to federal charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. White was also charged with aggravated assault in connection to the murder.
Now, officials say, Yella Beezy was instrumental in the murder plot. Court papers allege that Beezy hired White to pull off the hit, but the story behind White’s alleged role is still developing. If convicted, Beezy could score life in prison or even face the death penalty, considering the severity of a capital murder charge.
His arrest comes amid renewed attention around the longstanding enmity in the Dallas rap scene. Yella Beezy and Mo3 were reported to have had longstanding conflicts, but neither publicly discussed the nature of their problems before Mo3’s death. Beezy has since been taken into custody, but whether justice will serve upon him is still up in the air, and many ponder the potential for more turns in this tragic tale.
As this case unfolds, hip-hop heads and legal wonks will watch closely to see what happens next. For now, the industry grieves another example of the vicious cycle of violence that claims the lives of up-and-comers.
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