Atlanta rapper Lil Marlo — born Rudolph Johnson — is dead, Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed on Sunday. He was 30.
Although the cause of death was not determined and Johnson’s identity was not immediately confirmed, Atlanta police responded to a call about a man who was shot in his vehicle Saturday night. Police believe that the man was shot intentionally while driving, and homicide investigators are on the case, according to TMZ.
The up-and-coming rapper made his first mark on the music scene in 2017’s “2 the Hard Way,” which was a collaboration with Lil Baby. He was currently promoting his most recent work, “1st and 3rd,” on Instagram.
Lil Marlo is survived by a daughter and a son.
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group, the parent company to his label Quality Control Music, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tributes soon poured in for the young hip-hop star. “Rip lil marlo prayers to his family!” Meek Mill said in a tweet.
Fellow Universal Music artist Lil Yachty paid tribut with a photo on Instagram, which he captioned: “We just did a song a 4 this morning. smh rip brother @lilmarlo_1”
wow…😔 RIP Marlo 🕊 https://t.co/kzfzo0oyZn
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) July 12, 2020
