Rapper TEGA has died after he was shot in the head last month (May09). He was 25.
The star - real name Ortega Henderson - was fatally gunned down during an attempted robbery in St. Louis, Missouri on 22 May (09) and passed away in a local hospital on 27 May (09).
Police believe Henderson may have been shot by one of the victims of the robbery, after he and two other men allegedly broke into a property.
Henderson had previously been charged with drug and weapons offences.
The rapper's friend Kyjuan Cleveland says, "He got mixed up in the streets, but he was so talented, we thought we could pull him out of it. He was on the right path for a minute, but times are hard and he started getting around the wrong people."
The star, who was working on a new album, was a member of Nelly's St. Lunatics rap group. His group, Da Camp, have opened for both Nelly and the St. Lunatics.
ABlu Bolden, a boss of Nelly's record label Derrty Entertainment, has paid tribute to the slain rapper: "He was an aspiring rapper, a really talented guy. He was trying to do his artistry and get out of the streets."