Rapper King Louie was shot and badly wounded in the latest round of violence in Chicago on Wednesday.
The rap star, whose real name is Louis Johnson Jr., was shot in the head while in a car in the Ashburn neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side, according to police, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
Officials said Johnson was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition had stabilized, and a representative from his management team said he was “awake and talking.”
Others were not so lucky, however, as two other people were killed Wednesday in separate Chicago shootings.
A 39-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on the scene in the Austin neighborhood of the city. A 33-year-old man was also shot to death earlier in the day about half a mile away, and another man and woman were both injured at that scene.
King Louie, a.k.a. Johnson, grew up on the Southeast Side and is often credited with coining the term Chiraq, which compare’s the region to Iraq and inspired the title of Spike Lee‘s latest film.
The rapper released a song on Dec. 4 titled “F– Spike Lee,” the same day the New York director’s “Chi-Raq” premiered in theaters. Johnson also recently made a cameo appearance on Kanye West’s sixth album, “Yeezus.”
On Wednesday, Chance the Rapper tweeted that he was praying for his friend to pull through.
I believe in the power of prayer and I believe my brother Louie gone be ok. Send prayers to him in his battle.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 24, 2015