A rapper who went viral for his version of Baby Shark has been sH๏τ and killed, allegedly by a petty criminal who tried to rob him.
Ralan Styles, real name Michael Robinson, 22, was sH๏τ multiple times at a home in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Witnesses said the alleged killer tried to steal his neck chain, and sH๏τ him in a scuffle that followed, before fleeing.
Police were called to the Victorian Village neighborhood just before 5am and were flagged down by a man who led them inside.
Ralan Styles, real name Michael Robinson, 22, was sH๏τ multiple times at a home in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of Saturday morning
Styles went viral in 2022 with his dark and brooding rap remix of Baby Shark (pictured in the music video) that was viewed millions of times online
Officers found Styles, originally from Tallahᴀssee, Florida, bleeding from gunsH๏τ wounds and tried to revive him until paramedics arrived.
Attempts at CPR failed and he was pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at 5.10am.
Witnesses gave police a detailed description of the shooter, and they found Mahamood Hᴀssan, 24, who matched the description, nearby.
He was arrested, and charged with murder after witnesses picked him out of a police lineup as the shooter.
Hᴀssan is behind bars in the Franklin County Jail and will face court on Monday. He has three previous arrests for trespᴀssing and stealing.
Officers found Styles bleeding from gunsH๏τ wounds and tried to revive him until paramedics arrived. Attempts at CPR failed and he was pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at 5.10am
Witnesses said the alleged killer tried to steal Styles’ (pictured with his brother) neck chain, and sH๏τ him in a scuffle that followed before fleeing
Styles’ brother, a rapper known as ‘Lil Goat’, mourned him online in the hours after his death, posting videos of them together.
‘Not my lil brother man. I’m still waiting for you to call me and tell me this whole thing is a joke,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘My heart is f**king broken, I’ll never be the same. We went from rapping at the lunch table together in middle school, to becoming superstars.
‘We slept on the floor together, we ate together, we fought together, signed our first deal together. I love you bro, and as long as I’m alive you’ll never die.
‘Watch over me. Rest in peace to my lil brother. Save me a spot up there my heart.’
Styles’ brother, a rapper known as ‘Lil Goat’, mourned him online in the hours after his death, posting videos of them together
Baby Shark earned him a record deal with Republic Records, and he attended the Republic Records BET Awards in June with YK Osiris (left)
His friend Jared Krumm wrote that they ‘lost you way too young’.
‘Over the past two years [my brother] Jake and I got to experience the funny, energetic, and talented person that you were,’ he wrote.
‘There was never a dull moment with you whether we were in the studio, chillin in Jake’s basement, or even just riding in the car to McDonald’s. You had an energy that will NEVER be forgotten.’
Styles went viral in 2022 with his dark and brooding rap remix of the cultural phenomenon that gripped the world in 2019.
His version was watched more than four million times on his YouTube and more on TikTok, earning him a record deal with Republic Records.
He attended the Republic Records BET Awards in June and released Polyamorous featuring Justina Valentine.
