An 18-year-old man fatally shot near his home in Suitland was an up-and-coming rapper.
Prince George's County police said Douglas Brooks was found fatally shot outside an apartment complex early Sunday morning. Brooks was better known as "Swipey."
For those in the community, they lost someone who cared about his roots and his fans. For his family, they lost a son who had a bright future ahead of him.
"I’m dying inside. I’m dying right with him," Freda Brooks, Douglas' mother, said. "He was a smart boy. I didn’t want him to be no rapper."
Freda Brooks said Douglas Brooks graduated high school at 16 years old and at the top of his class. She said music is what he loved and what he chose to purse instead of accepting a college scholarship to Morgan State University.
"He made his own mark, made his own name," she said. "He took his money allowance, everything, for studio time and did what he had to do."
Douglas Brooks' manager, Kevin Baldwin, of the record label M.O.P3, told The Washington Post Swipey had already performed alongside rappers, including Fat Joe and Wale, a Washington native.
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"He wanted to give to the people his creation. He wanted to give the people his artistry and what he was about," WPGC DJ Tony Redz told News4.
Redz recalled how the teen impressed him in the short time he knew him.
"He performed and he shook every kid's hand and he took every picture and that's what the kids remember," Redz said. "He took his stardom and he used it in a positive way to say 'Hey kids, I'm from where you are.'"
The video for Swipey's song "Intro" has been viewed more than 130,000 times on YouTube and was recorded in and around the Washington area.
Police said they don't believe Douglas Brooks' slaying was a random act of violence. They said it was an ambush-style shooting but don't have any motive.
