On Sunday night, after a young rapper had been shot dead on March 18, a Washington D.C. nightclub reportedly held a “funeral” featuring his corpse propped up on a stage while the audience danced to music.
Rapper Goonew's corpse was propped up at a D.C. nightclub during the artist's funeral. https://t.co/y4NB9qDlwM
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 4, 2022
It is still under investigation whether the corpse was the actual body of Goonew or not.
Twenty-four-year-old rapper Markelle Morrow, known as Goonew, was found in a parking lot with a life-threatening injury by police responding to reports of gunshots, then taken to a hospital and pronounced dead , NBC 4 reported on March 19, adding, “Morrow’s family told News4 that they believe he was shot in a robbery.”
Cellphone recordings from Sunday night at the club Bliss, where an event occurred titled “The Final Show, show mourners saying goodbye to the rapper, who appears to be propped up on stage “with his eye open, propped up on a stage sporting a designer Amiri hooded sweatshirt, ripped jeans decorated with flames and sneakers, accessorized with a watch and a gold crown,” The Daily Mail reported.
According to The Shade Room, “A source who attended the event confirmed to #TheShadeRoom that there was a $40 cover fee to enter the venue named #BlissNightclub. At this time, it’s unclear whether the club knew Goonew’s corpse was going to be displayed or who exactly arranged the viewing.”
On Monday, the management of Bliss nightclub released a statement on Instagram, writing, “Our deepest condolences to Goonew’s family, friends and fans. Bliss was contacted by a local funeral home to rent out our venue for Goonew’s home-going celebration. Bliss was never made aware of what would transpire. We sincerely apologize to all those who may be upset or offended. Please keep Goonew’s family and friends in your prayers at this difficult time.”
Rapper Black Fortune, who posted video of the audience dancing around the rapper, wrote, on his Instagram Stories: “As long as his mother was happy that’s all that matter. … We celebrating my dawg life stop crying.”
Complex noted of Goonew:
The young MC created a lengthy discography for himself, with 2017’s Certified Goon, 2018’s Big 64 and Goonwick, 2019’s Back from Hell, and 2021’s Short Temper. Goonew was previously shot in 2019, and wrote, “I Ain’t Never Show This Pictures But July 5th Last Year They Told My Mother I Was Dead I Came Back…I’m Blessed & Thankful I’m Still Here.”
In 2020, he was listed as a Pigeons & Planes Best New Artist, and spoke about his then-latest single “Bricks” and his creative process.
In 2020, Complex wrote:
Nobody can whisper-rap quite like Goonew. He’s more or less created his own unique sound—a rushed murmur of descriptive confessions about drug-dealing—that’s been imitated ad nauseum since he first became a rapper of acclaim in late 2017.
He’s circled around the blogosphere in the time since, drifting into the orbits of Hoodrich Pablo Juan and Lil Yachty, and had cooling periods that have seen him retreat into the shadows. But with his new return single “Bricks,” Goonew reclaims his signature cadence that makes his music so haunting.