A day after the shooting death of Young Lo at a Miami Beach nightclub, the 37-year-old rapper/producer is being remembered by his longtime friend, creative collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Christian “Hitmaka” Ward.
Along with Chrishan “Prince Chrishan” Dotson, Hitmaka is a co-founder of Makasound Records, where Lo worked in A&R. During his career, the late artist had also collaborated with other label executives and artists on various projects. Young Lo’s credits include collaborations with Drake, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Ray J and Tyga.
“Lo has been a longtime friend of mine for like 15 years,” Hitmaka aka Yung Berg tells Billboard. “We go as far back to when Ray J and I were doing ‘Sexy Can I’ and all these different records. Lo was just a great people person who knew how to put the right people together and had the resources to where maybe a Chris Brown or such-and-such [artist] might be good for a project. Lo was always a great asset to me. He was just great energy. Everybody loved to have Lo around. He was also very selfless, putting a lot of people before himself.
“This is truly a tragedy,” Hitmaka continues. “I haven’t lost a close friend like that, so this has rocked my world. I’m just dealing with picking up the pieces, helping out his mother, his family and his son. I’m sending super condolences to his family and loved ones. And man, I want to preach to everybody to just stay safe. Tomorrow isn’t promised. Tell loved ones that you love them on a daily basis because you just never know.”
According to reports from the Miami Herald, CBS News and other outlets, Young Lo was among three people who were shot at the South Beach nightclub Gala early Sunday morning. Born Lowell Grissom, Young Lo later died at the hospital. Two women were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and are expected to recover.
As of this writing, no arrests have been made.
