Philly rapper Phat Geez shot and killed
Geez — whose real name is Derrick Gant — had recently released a song titled "No Gunzone" about the toll of gun violence in Philadelphia.
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Local rapper and Meek Mill collaborator Phat Geez was shot and killed in North Philadelphia on Sunday night.
Officers were called to the 1200 block of North Taney Street at 10:10 p.m. Sunday after having received reports of a person with a gun, Philadelphia police said. Upon arrival, officers found Phat Geez — whose real name is Derrick Gant — shot multiple times, according to police. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and pronounced dead shortly after. Gant was 28 years old.
Gant is best know for his 2014 song “Life,” which features Meek Mill. Gant was also briefly affiliated with Mill’s label Dream Chasers Records, dropping his first mixtape Cut From a Different Cloth in 2014.
“rip phat geez.....Philly is a terrible place for black people to live… you see too much death!!!!” Mill posted on X (formerly Twitter), later writing on his Instagram story that “it’s time we fully break the streets up” under a photo of Gant posing in a thobe for Ramadan.
Gun violence was a constant motif in Gant’s music, with his most recent release “No Gunzone” a reference to a popular Instagram account of the same name that catalogs shootings and antiviolence efforts in Philly.
“Killings all up in my city, can’t get enough of it, facing all of these problems I cannot run from it,” Gant raps, later urging young people to stay out of the streets.
Gant had posted to Instagram to promote the song hours before the shooting. Now, the comments section is filled with tributes.
“First song I hear from him he speaking positively about putting the guns down... Just for him to die behind it. Sick sick sick,” wrote one user, while others posted broken heart emojis and condolences.
Sixty-three people have been killed so far in 2024 in Philadelphia, down 30% from this time last year, according to police data.
Last summer, another well-known Philly rapper, Devin Spady, aka YNG Cheese, was shot and killed in Olney. Spady was the son of entertainment mogul Gillie da King. His killing remains unsolved.
Police ask that anyone with information on Gant’s homicide call the police tip line at 215-686-8477(TIPS) or dial 911. There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.