An 18-year-old man has been charged with the fatal shooting of Joshua Rayborn, a father of two and rising hip-hop star, killed outside his home in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side.
Emilio Chavez | Chicago Police
Emilio Chavez, 18, is charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 18 slaying of 28-year-old Rayborn, who performed under the moniker Rate YK, according to authorities.
Rayborn was standing on the sidewalk in front of his apartment in the 2900 block of South Arch Street at 11:34 p.m. that night, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Shots were fired and Rayborn was struck in the chest, authorities said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joshua Rayborn was a popular rapper who performed as Rate YK. | Facebook
Rayborn is married with two children, and his family was home at the time of the shooting, though no one else was injured. Family members put up a small memorial outside the building the following day.
Prosecutors allege the killing was part of a drug deal gone bad, claiming Chavez had agreed to buy marijuana from Rayborn, then tried to steal it.
Chavez, who lives in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, is being held without bond at the Cook County Jail, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. His next court date was set for Monday.
The author of GoFundMe page set up to help the family wrote: “My family has lost a very special person to gun violence. If you knew Josh, you knew what type of man he was. Joshua Was a husband to an amazing woman, father to Sofia and Xavier, son to Anna Rivera, and brother to Amanda Rayborn; and amazing person/family member, and friend.
“Joshua aka RATE YK was an artist and loved making music. His smile and sarcastic sense of humor is irreplaceable. He left behind a legacy that all his fans, friends and family will cherish forever,” The GoFundMe page said.
On his Rate YK Facebook page, Rayborn said the goal of his music was to “take listeners on a journey to see life through his eyes and what it’s like to grow up and fit every stereotype, but still maintain dreams of making it out.”
—Homicide Watch Chicago and CHicago Sun-Times Wire