Live by the gun, die by the gun

Yeah, I’m treading on Robert Stacy McCain’s “Aspiring Rapper Update” turf with this one, but it was a Philly story, so I can call dibs.

Abdul Vicks, 25, had some sort of rap career as “YBC Dul”, and Philly Crime Update told me that he had “millions of streams” for his ‘songs,’ if rap can actually be called a song, and I don’t think it can.

Popular rapper who prosecutors say was ringleader of violent gang was fatally shot in Olney

Abdul Vicks, who performed as “YBC Dul,” was fatally shot on the 5500 block of North Sixth Street, just after 3:30 p.m. Friday.

by Ellie Rushing and Robert Moran | Saturday, August 23, 2024 | 7:14 PM EDT

A popular 25-year-old rapper — who prosecutors say was considered the ringleader of a notoriously violent West Philadelphia-based gang — was shot and killed Friday afternoon in the city’s Olney section, a law enforcement source said.

I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked, that The Philadelphia Inquirer, which told us that there are no gangs in the city, just “cliques of young men affiliated with certain neighborhoods and families,” who sometimes had “beefs” with other cliques, used the word “gang,” especially when one of the writers of this article, Ellie Rushing, was also the first name in the byline of that September 19, 2022 article.

Police said the shooting occurred just after 3:30 p.m. on the 5500 block of North Sixth Street. The victim, who was identified as Abdul Vicks, was taken by private vehicle to Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

The newspaper’s source remains anonymous, because he was not authorized to speak to the press about the case. As of the writing of this article, no arrests have been made.

Prosecutors say Vicks, who performed as “YBC Dul,” was considered the ringleader of the West Philadelphia-based gang called YBC, or Young Bag Chasers.

Philly Crime Update also told us that young Mr Vicks, who will never become the elder Mr Vicks, was also known by a gang name, “Mr Disrespectful.” It appears that someone else has “disrespected” Mr Vicks.

Earlier this month, 22-year-old Quamere Hall, a Vicks associate, was arrested at the Criminal Justice Center and charged with the shooting death of a 34-year-old man last year.

Hall, another rapper who performs as “Mere Pablo,” was at the Criminal Justice Center to show support for Arshad Curry, a fellow YBC member who was scheduled to be sentenced for shooting five people, three fatally, in 2021. Curry was sentenced to 42½ to 85 years in prison.

Last year, three other YBC members were convicted of killing two teens.

Let’s tell the truth here: other than for the families of the Young Bag Chasers, this is all pretty good news. Mr Vicks, the supposed ‘ringleader’ of the gang, has been taken off the streets, permanently. Mr Hall has been arrested for murder.

Arshad Curry, a.k.a. “Most Wanted,” Raheis Sherman, street name “F5ive,” Zaire Crawford, a.k.a. “1k” or “Murda K”, Yaseam Miles, a.k.a. “Baby Wick” or “Ya Ya”; and Semaj Nolan, a.k.a. “Reek12Hunnit,” some of them with the Chaser’s allied gang, the Young Face Arrangers, are all behind bars, most for decades. How can it be a bad thing when bad guys are off the streets?