Sept.12, 2023, marks the first anniversary of PnB Rock’s passing. As The Shade Room reported, the Philadelphia-bred rapper was gunned down at a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles establishment in South Central Los Angeles during a robbery.
The 30-year-old was pronounced dead later that same day, initiating a wave of grief within the hip hop community.
Following his passing, celebs like Kodak Black and Boosie proceeded to chime in. The latter made it a point to encourage other rappers to stay strapped while traveling around Los Angeles.
In fact, Boosie went as far as to call the city the “rap murder capital” in his message. Similarly, Ice-T hopped on X, formerly known as Twitter, and declared, “I’m done explaining LA Gang culture… MFs will not listen. It’s not a game. At all.”
As for Kodak Black, he prioritized calling out PnB Rock’s then-girlfriend, Stephanie Sibounheuang, for sharing their Geolocation on social media ahead of the tragedy. However, he later apologized, noting that he was “angry at that moment.” Stephanie eventually acknowledged the tragedy by opening up in a lengthy social media message.
In addition to these developments, authorities swiftly got to work on the case. After exploring whether any previous feuds played into the killing, police charged three people—Freddie Trone, Shauntel Trone, and Freddie’s minor son—with the crime.
Now that justice is underway, fans are left with the “Selfish” rapper’s memory. In the name of paying homage to PnB Rock on the first anniversary of his death, here are five moments to remember about the late rap star.
#1
He Helped Bring "Smooth Melodies" To Philly's Raw Rap Scene
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Starting with his contributions and impact on hip hop, we have to point out that PnB Rock wasn’t shy about going against the grain and bringing a new kind of sound to his city.
During a 2017 sit-down with Billboard, he acknowledged, “Before I came along, the Philly music scene was all hardcore, gangster, shoot-em-up, kill-your-grandmother type of music.”
However, he centered his artistry on “smooth melodies,” which helped usher in a “new vibe” that Philadelphia “wasn’t used to.”
“Once I came along, I started giving more smooth melodies, more songs for the ladies, a new vibe and Philly wasn’t used to all that.”
PnB Rock also looped Lil Uzi Vert into the mix, noting that they both helped flip the script.
“Lil Uzi and I gave Philly different sounds by stepping outside of the box and not sticking to the stigma.”
#2
He Devoted Himself To His Artistry While Behind Bars
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Staying on his music for a moment, it’s also worth noting that he truly began to focus on his craft while incarcerated on a 33-month sentence.
He discussed the matter on MTV’s TRL back in 2017, sharing that he began creating while behind bars.
“I did 33 months upstate in real jail. That’s where I started making music.”
In fact, he declared, “If I didn’t sit down and do that time, I still probably would’ve still been out there going crazy.”
PnB’s discussion of the matter doesn’t end there, as he also detailed writing rhymes in jail during a sit-down with Rolling Stone in early 2022.
“I had came home with a notebook. … I used to write all my s**t down. We used to have little radios and s**t up there. People used to have keyboards where they were making beats and s**t up there. It wasn’t that hard for me to get my s**t out there, because it was already a culture in jail.”
As for what inspired him when penning his raps while behind bars, he explained that seeing other inmates opening up helped him follow suit.
“I just was writing about my personal s**t. And I seen those guys in there, they really motivated me to sing and put it out there. … You would think in jail everybody’s so tough and everybody’s so hardcore, but they were showing they vulnerability in there.”
PnB Rock also noted that he wrote “Fleek,” which was later included on a mixtape, while in solitary confinement.
#3
He Was Always All About Self-Expression
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Similarly, we should add that PnB Rock was always on his self-expression grind!
The “Middle Child” rapper recounted his first tattoo during a chat with GQ.
“My first tattoo was my initials, R.A. — Rakim Allen. Me and my lil’ brother got these tattoos. We got kicked out my mom’s crib.”
Surprisingly, he revealed that he and his brother got the ink when they were respectively in 6th and 5th grade, noting, “We was young as f**k. We was cool as s**t though because we had these tattoos.”
Despite getting his “a*s whooped” for the decision, he stood by it for the sake of “be[ing] rebellious” and forging “memories.”
On the heels of this tatt, PnB Rock says he “started going crazy” by “getting a whole bunch of random s**t.” So, on top of his musical artistry, PnB was here for expressing himself with body art.
#4
He Was Committed To Helping Up-And-Coming Artists
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Utilizing his status to spread the love, PnB Rock made it a point to search for rising rappers to help highlight.
The artist dished on the subject during his aforementioned Rolling Stone interview, noting that he enjoyed looking for talented artists on SoundCloud.
“A lot of times, I’ll start off by looking up me, and I look at similar artists to me. And that s**t just keep going — I might be on that b***h for like an hour, two hours, just listening to different people.”
As for the reasoning behind this approach, PnB Rock said he wanted to give back after not receiving support from larger stars upon first hitting the scene.
“I do it because when I first came into this s**t in 2015, when I got signed and I was looking up to all these older rappers — n***as I actually listen to — when I finally got to interact with them, it was a letdown. … They don’t show no love to the young n***as.”
He added, “We could all get money together. … I’m a humble n***a. I keep everything cordial.”
#5
He Was A Proud Father Of Two Daughters
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Last but certainly not least, we have to acknowledge PnB Rock embracing his role when it came to his daughters, Milan and Xuri.
While speaking on his firstborn during a 2017 sit-down with HOT 97, he described Milan as “a real smart baby [who’s] growing fast.”
During an interview with MONTREALITY two years later, PnB Rock opened up about what being a girl dad taught him.
“Having a daughter teaches me a lot. It teaches me [to] respect girls for real. Because all the s**t she see me do to a girl, she gonna think that s**t cool… I gotta keep that in mind. She be having me on point like a mother**ker.”
Eventually, PnB Rock welcomed Xuri with Stephanie Sibounheuang, and he proudly shared the news with his fans shortly after her birth.
Rest in peace, PnB Rock.
