The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Best Aspiring Rapper Update Ever?

Posted on | April 15, 2023 | 1 Comment

‘BTB Savage’ flashing cash on Instagram

Has it been nearly two months since I gave readers an Aspiring Rapper Update? Wow, getting slack in my old age. However, the long wait will be worth it, because this week we’ve got a splendidly complicated tale that involves two Texas rappers getting shot dead, and a third rapper on his way to prison for a drive-by shooting to avenge the first rapper’s death, a justified homicide about which the second rapper had boasted.

First, I must remind you of the Urban Dictionary definition:

Aspiring Rapper
North American euphemism for a member of the urban criminal class. This unusual occupation is usually mentioned in conjunction with the subject either being slain or being taken into custody for a violent or property-related crime. A relative of the subject usually points out that the subject’s demise or incarceration comes at an extremely inopportune moment, occurring just as the subject was “turning they(sic) life around.”

It would perhaps be unfair to include the late Darrell Gentry, a/k/a “BTB Savage,” in this category because Gentry wasn’t just some petty gangbanger, but actually made money from his performances. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, who moved to San Antonio as a teenager, Gentry’s rap moniker “BTB” stood for “break the bank,” which was the title of one of his more successful tunes. Gentry was all about the money, which he enjoyed flaunting on his social media posts. See that watch in the top image? That’s a $25,000 Cartier. Do you have a $25,000 Cartier watch? Not likely, nor do I have a $25,000 Cartier, but this 21-year-old rapper had one, and I’ll keep that in mind the next time some “social justice” type starts lecturing me about my white privilege. But I digress . . .

Gentry’s ostentatious display of wealth probably explains how he attracted the attention of another Texas rapper. One of the ways the rap scene now operates, apparently, is that successful artists get paid for collaborations with aspiring rappers, and this other rapper arranged such a session to be recorded at Gentry’s home studio in his San Antonio apartment. The rapper brought along some buddies, apparently with a motive not to record a hit song, but rather to rob Gentry. One of this crew, 34-year-old Omar “Stew Wop” Richardson, pulled a gun and a struggle broke out. Gentry’s girlfriend somehow got hold of the gun and opened fire. Gentry was wounded in the left arm, but Richardson got shot twice in the back, and was left for dead when Gentry and his girlfriend fled the apartment. Police determined it was a case of self-defense, justifiable homicide under Texas law, and no charges were filed.

Last month, “BTB” Gentry gave an interview about the shooting:

 

That video was released on March 26, at which point, “BTB” had just four days left to live, because how could any rapper resist the opportunity to brag about surviving such an incident? On March 29, “BTB” posted this to his Instagram page (which had more than 100,000 followers):

So there he is, flashing cash in the first image, then standing at the scene of Omar Richardson’s death — blood stains on the floor, bullet holes in the door behind him — with a caption taunting the dead man about “make his momma throw a fundraiser” to pay for his funeral.

Also, “BTB” somehow let it be known that he had relocated to Houston, which information was helpful to one of Omar Richardson’s buddies:

The family of an aspiring San Antonio rapper who was killed last week in a Houston drive-by shooting believes his death may have been in retaliation for a fatal shooting in San Antonio that had been ruled an act of self-defense and for which the rapper openly expressed feeling no remorse.
Darrell Gentry, known professionally as BTB Savage, was fatally shot March 30 in the affluent River Oaks neighborhood in what Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said appears to have been a targeted attack.
Police were called about 6:10 p.m. to the entrance of a parking garage for reports of a drive-by shooting, where they found Gentry with at least one gunshot wound. The San Antonio man, whose identity was later confirmed by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office, was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said two people fled at high speed in a black Subaru SUV.
On Friday, Houston police said they were looking for Montrel Lenard Burley, 40, saying he has been charged with murder in Gentry’s killing. Police also said at least one other unknown person is wanted in connection with the crime.
Gentry’s mother, Bernita Ward, said on social media that she had warned her son not to speak publicly about the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Omar Richardson, which occurred in February in Gentry’s San Antonio apartment. . . .
“My son allowed his friends and social media to hype him up, and these media blogs paying him money to do interviews talking about the matter,” Ward posted on social media. “My entire family pleaded with him to let the family mourn in peace. … I’m not the type of mother that cover up my child’s wrong. My son made his own choices and, as so many of us, has not always made wise decisions.”

Flashing cash, taunting the dead — hey, by the way, in case you didn’t watch that YouTube interview, this article quotes important details:

Gentry and his girlfriend grabbed their son and ran from the apartment so that Gentry could go to a hospital for his mangled elbow.
Gentry told the interviewer that Richardson at that point was still alive but severely injured and crawling toward the hallway asking for help.
“You could tell the bullets in his back were getting to him. … He was saying, ‘Come on, brother, I’ve got kids too. Let me make it home. Don’t let me die.’ And I said, ‘I don’t give a (expletive) about you. … I hope you die. You were going to kill my son,’” Gentry said in the interview. “I’m not taking you to some hospital. … If they come save you, then they save you, but if not, … it’s your last day.” . . .
Gentry told the YouTube interviewer that when a police officer at the hospital informed him that Richardson had died, he replied, “Good, I’m glad. My son was in there, so I ain’t tripping.
“I went to sleep good as hell the next day,” Gentry said. “I didn’t care.”

While this attitude is perfectly understandable — I mean, you come to my house and try to rob me, I ain’t gonna shed any tears over your death — we can say with the benefit of hindsight that it was a bad idea for “BTB” to publicly boast about it. Meanwhile, his killer was arrested Tuesday:

Murder suspect Montrel Lenard Burley

A man accused of killing Darrell Gentry, a rapper known on social media as BTB Savage, has been arrested, according to the Houston Police Department.
Montrel Lenard Burley, 40, was charged with murder on Friday, April 7 after the deadly shooting on Mid Lane in the River Oaks area at the end of March.
Court records revealed that they were able to identify Burley as a suspect by using cell phone records and license plate readers following the shooting. Burley turned himself in on Tuesday, officials said.
The suspects were driving a black Subaru at the time of the shooting which was spotted in the Galleria area and tracked heading to New Braunfels. . . .
Gentry was shot to death in a deadly drive-by shooting that police called a “targeted” incident in one of Houston’s richest neighborhoods.
Witnesses told police that around 6 p.m., they saw a black Subaru with dark windows pull up next to the victim’s Mercedes, with two suspects getting out of the car, and firing dozens of bullets into the car. . . .
Around 11 p.m. [March 30], surveillance footage from a neighbor in New Braunfels captures a man wiping down a black Subaru inside and out. . . .
Surveillance footage from the same neighbor [March 31] catches a man and woman getting inside a black Subaru just before 7 a.m. The couple was later pulled over by New Braunfels SWAT and found Burley inside the vehicle with a woman who was driving.
According to court documents, both were arrested and Burley was charged with narcotics possession. Burley was questioned about his whereabouts during the shooting but stated he wasn’t in the black Subaru when it happened and that someone asked to use the vehicle. He later asked for an attorney and ended the interview.
Burley’s girlfriend, Passion James, said that the black Subaru was rented from AVIS prior to the shooting because Burley was in a car accident. James also told investigators that she knew Burley had a cousin named “Omar” who was killed earlier this year. James stated she did not know Omar’s last name.
The court documents state that Burley and Richardson were not related, but that they would refer to each other as brothers.
Documents show that a rifle shell casing fell from the rear door of the black Subraru while the New Braunfels Crime Scene Unit investigated during the traffic stop. The shell casing was similar to the ones found at the River Oaks shooting scene. . . .
Gentry’s mother, Bernita Ward, told investigators [April 3] that her son was staying at an Airbnb near the Galleria. Documents say that Gentry was receiving death threats from Richardson’s family members after the February shooting and that she advised him to get away.
Gentry told his mother he was going to head to Las Vegas on March 30 or March 31, before he was killed. His mother said Gentry was on the way to the airport when he was shot.
Burley was charged with murder [April 7] after they confirmed his cell phone and the black Subaru were in the area of Mid Lane at the time of the shooting.
Court documents state that his phone and car were both tracked back to New Braunfels hours after the shooting. Burley’s phone was also tracked to be in the Galleria area for several hours near where Gentry stayed on March 30. . . .
Police are still searching for another suspect who has yet to be identified.
Burley appeared in court Tuesday morning and had his bond set at $1 million.

So, two people are dead, one man is charged with murder, and another suspect is still at large. I blame . . . systemic racism!



 

 

Category: Aspiring Rapper Update

Comments

One Response to “Best Aspiring Rapper Update Ever?”

  1. The lives, and deaths of "Aspring Rappers" - The DaleyGator
    April 16th, 2023 @ 2:15 pm

    […] The Other McCain reports on yet another deceased young man who died a violent death and took his aspirations of wealth and fame with him […]