Bloodhound Q50’s pregnant girlfriend begged him to speed away from a Chicago gas station moments before six gunmen ambushed his Tesla and killed him.
The 22-year-old drill rapper, born Mikquale Cooper, was gunned down early Sunday at a BP station on the city’s South Side, according to surveillance footage reviewed by Fox 32. His girlfriend, who was waiting in the white Tesla, had spotted danger forming around the vehicle while Cooper was inside the convenience store.
She later recounted the final seconds in a social media post obtained by the station. “The car would not pull off because of the seat belt while he was trying to get the car in drive,” she wrote, describing Cooper as her “homie,” “lover,” and “my unborn baby father,” She continued, “As soon as.. [I] heard shots, I got out [as] fast as I could and ran screaming for help.”
Before Cooper could escape, a hooded gunman sprinted to the driver’s side and opened fire, shattering the window. Another shooter then positioned himself directly in front of the Tesla and pumped numerous rounds inside. Additional gunmen fired from a Honda parked at one of the pumps.
A nearby witness told the Chicago Sun-Times the barrage seemed endless. “I thought I heard over 100 [shots],” the person said. “I think the [police] markings stopped at 80 or something, but I feel like I heard way more than that.”
The violence carried an eerie prelude. One of the killers had approached Cooper’s girlfriend before the shooting and warned her, “This is gonna be your man’s last night alive,” the Sun-Times reported.
No arrests have been made, and police have not disclosed a motive. However, Fox 32 reported that some of the alleged shooters later bragged about the killing online, posting photos of weapons that appeared similar to those captured on surveillance video.
Cooper had amassed more than a million monthly listeners on Spotify and was part of a rap collective that has suffered devastating losses. His cousin, Bloodhound Zmoney, was shot dead three years earlier. Close associate Bloodhound Lil Jeff, 21, was killed in Chicago in June 2024, and another affiliate, Lil Scoom 89, died the following month.
The rapper’s own legal troubles had mounted alongside his music career. In September 2023, he was being treated for a gunshot wound when police found a firearm in his backpack. He pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced in December 2024 to one year in prison.
Weeks before his death, Cooper addressed the perilous reality of his life in a YouTube interview with DJ Akademiks. “I’m not chasing death but I’m not running from it either,” he said, discussing his efforts to survive ongoing feuds in “Chiraq,” a grim nickname for Chicago’s violence-plagued streets. He added, “I know what I signed up for. One slip-up, you’re gone.”
The rapper’s girlfriend had urged him to act quickly when he returned to the car. “Hurry up and pull off,” she told him, noting that “dudes were walking around the car looking suspicious.” The seat belt mechanism delayed their escape just long enough for the gunmen to close in.