Remembering PnB Rock: Young music producer from Philadelphia area "devastated" over loss of his good friend
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia leaders and the music industry are mourning the loss of rapper PnB Rock. The Germantown native, whose real name is Rakim Hasheem Allen, was gunned down at a Los Angeles restaurant on Monday afternoon.
He was eating at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles with his girlfriend when police say a man reportedly demanded the rapper's jewelry and then shot and killed him.
PnB Rock was one of the first people to perform at the Met Opera House after it reopened in December 2018. The opera house now has a marquee up saying "Rest in Pease PnB Rock."
Eyewitness News spoke with a young music producer who worked very closely with the late rapper.
"I was devastated," Zaccary Newsham-Quinn said.
Zaccary Newsham-Quinn, whose stage name is Zac Tyler, is a 19-year-old music producer mourning the death of his good friend PnB Rock.
"Especially growing up, listening to him as a fan, and then working with him and building a connection with him, it's something that definitely tears you apart," Zaccary said.
He says PnB Rock has been his role model for the last seven years, but PnB Rock found him five years ago when he was 14. He posted a message on Instagram.
"You found me 5 years ago when I was 14 years old… one of the first artists to ever give me motivation and push me to be the best I can be. I never thought this day would come. We had huge things coming in the next week. Billboards in Timesquare, Concerts, Studio time. You told me so many times that nobody my age is doing what I'm doing. I feel like I took our time for granted. Last week we had the deepest conversation we ever had and I finally got the chance to tell you that you were the reason I started making music. my inspiration. I don't care what anyone says, you're one of the realest people I ever met. No one's gonna fill ya shoes bro. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you and learn from you. LONGLIVEROCK. Love you forever bro," the tweet read.
He recalled the first time they created together.
"We have a couple more songs that never got released, unfortunately, but we had a lot of plans coming up for this week," Zaccary said.
He tells Eyewitness News the two of them had plans to go to New York City this week to create a billboard in Times Square promoting his latest song, "Luv Me Again." It was released 10 days ago on Sept. 3.
With his unique ability to blend melodies with rapping, he fit perfectly into the next evolution of hip-hop. Zaccary recalls PnB Rock's love for R&B.
"He was always a big '90s R&B lover, '80s R&B lover and he kind of took that music and turned it into our generation. All these artists are trying to do the same thing he was doing. He started that wave. And it's incredible the way he was able to transform that type of music into the music we have today," Zaccary said.
City councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, who met PnB Rock during a Stop the Violence rally, is introducing a resolution before city council Thursday to honor the rapper's life and legacy.
"He was encouraging the young generation to put the guns down, and so for me, that was a good example about the type of person that he was, where he used his platform to promote positivity," Johnson said.
PnB Rock, a father of two, was best known for his single "Selfish."
