Mother of Gillie da King’s late son speaks out about his killing

Tara “Toy” Fears’ penthouse apartment in Wyncote has a spectacular view.

But during a recent visit, I barely glanced at it. Instead, my attention was riveted on the images of her late son, Devin Spady Jr., that she has on display. One — a portrait with an orange background created by artist Mike Doughty, commissioned by the traveling exhibit “The Apologues” — called to mind Spady’s stage name, YNG Cheese. Two floor-to-ceiling black-and-white photo posters of him flank either side of her TV. Another nearly life-size one of Spady shows him dressed in a colorful shorts set.

I’d never seen anything like these photos on display in a private home, much less an apartment. Photos that size are apropos considering how larger-than-life the late rapper was before he was shot and killed in July while visiting the Olney section of Philadelphia.

Born on April 6, 1998, Spady was tall, handsome, and talented. Even as a toddler, Spady loved rap music, his mother said, and would challenge adults to participate in impromptu rap battles with him. He had big plans for his life.

He dreamed of being as big a star as Drake. It was in his blood, considering he’s the son of Philly’s own Gillie da King, a popular hip-hop artist, entertainment mogul, and podcaster, who got his start as a member of the rap group Major Figgas.

Spady had been part of the rap duo MACC & Cheese. Sadly, his life had barely started when he was killed, leaving behind a 2-year-old son named Chase, a fiancée, and numerous relatives who keep asking themselves: How could something like this happen?

Of course, the “how” is Philadelphia’s unrelenting gun violence, which has killed more than 300 people this year so far. And as Spady’s story shows, neither his fame — nor his father’s — could save him.

Still, Spady’s death received more media attention than most of the other Philadelphians killed in 2023, much of which mentioned his father. Little was said about his mother, Fears. But she is here, and she misses her son.

“I still think about him every day, all day,” Fears told me. “I sit here a lot and I wait for him to come through the door. I look at his videos a lot. They make me smile.”

According to video from the scene, a group of men had been engaged in a conversation on the corner of West Nedro Avenue and North Mascher Street on July 20 when gunshots rang out. It remains unclear whether shots were fired by someone in the group or by a shooter from farther down the block. Two other men were also shot that day — one in the hip and another in the leg. Spady, who lived in an apartment building in Wyncote next to his mother’s, was the only fatality.

Spady’s famous dad has been vocal in expressing his grief about the son he called “Cheddar.” “It’s a struggle, man. It’s a struggle every day,” Gillie, who is also known as Far’d “Gil” Nasir, said on the Pivot podcast last month. “The biggest struggle for me is looking at my kids knowing they’re never going to see their brother again.”

Nasir, who cohosts Million Dollaz Worth of Game with Wallace “Wallo267″ Peeples, added that this kind of loss “is something you never get over. There’s a black hole in my heart forever.”

Through everything, Fears — who works as a nurse — has largely stayed in the background, where she’s most comfortable.

But even though Fears has been quiet in public, she has been more vocal privately, reaching out to police repeatedly about her son, and has been anxiously awaiting answers. So far, she said, authorities told her they have no suspects or information on why the shooting might have happened. (A police spokesperson confirmed to me recently that there are no updates.)

Like the mothers of many of the homicide victims I’ve interviewed over the years, Fears worries that the police aren’t trying hard enough.

“He wasn’t a bad kid. He wasn’t in the streets doing crazy things or anything like that,” Fears told me. “He was a smart kid. He knew about the streets and things and what was going on. He wasn’t oblivious to things going on in the world. He just really got caught up. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

A $20,000 reward is offered for information that leads to an arrest. People were out on the night Spady was killed. Someone knows something. They need to do the right thing.