The street where VL Mike was killed

This is the location where rapper VL Mike was shot dead.

It is situated in the 4700 block of Miles Drive in New Orleans, Louisiana.

VL Mike, whose real name was Michael Allen, broke into the rap scene after he joined a hip-hop group called The Chopper City Boyz in early 2004.

On February 27, 2007, the group released its debut album, "We Got This." The album sold more than 500,000 copies and reached number one on the Billboard "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" chart.

Beef with B.G

Three months after its release, Mike suddenly left The Chopper City Boyz.

Initially, the record label claimed that he had left to pursue a solo career.

However, it soon emerged that the split had been caused by a disagreement between Mike and the group's leader, B.G. (Baby Gangsta). Although B.G. believed that the dispute was minor and that they had both parted ways on peaceful terms, rumors soon circulated that Mike was recording a diss track about him.

When Chopper City Records co-CEO Carol Dorsey was asked about the rift, she said, "In group settings, it is common to disagree, but we never imagined that Mike would overreact in such a manner. All me and B.G. offered him was an opportunity to become successful."

Documentary

Shortly after his departure, Mike recorded a homemade "documentary" in which he visited various areas of "the hood" and repeatedly insulted B.G. in front of strangers.

In one clip, the rapper yelled:

"I told you last night, b*tch, on the phone. Don't play with me, b*tch. I don't fold. I don't bend."

Although the people he met seemed pleased to appear on camera and talk to a regionally famous rapper, they became visibly uneasy when he started criticizing B.G.

When he encouraged some of them to join in on the criticism, they shied away from getting involved.

Mike wanted to show everyone that he had more "street cred" than B.G.

B.G. was a well-respected figure on the streets of New Orleans who had connections to many dangerous men.

Local rumors suggest that B.G. responded to Mike's diss track and "documentary" by ordering his death. However, there is no evidence to prove this.

Mike eventually released a diss track about B.G. titled "Ether." In the song, he questioned his former associate's credibility and warned him to "watch his step."

Murder

At around 1 p.m. on April 20, 2008, VL Mike was exiting his vehicle when he was shot several times by an unknown gunman.

The rapper was rushed to University Hospital on Canal Street, where he was soon pronounced dead.

He was 32 years old.

The rapper's death is often attributed to his public feud with B.G.

However, those who personally knew the pair have denied suggestions that B.G. was involved.

Rapper "Maal The Pimp" said that the beef was "never going to go that far," as The Chopper City Boyz still considered Mike to be family.

During one interview, he claimed that the situation looked far worse to the public than it was behind the scenes. In his opinion, the pair were eventually going to reconcile.

Some of "the shooters" who associated with B.G. were Mike's blood relatives, and they all grew up in the same neighborhood.

If true, this suggests that the rapper was killed by someone else for a reason that has yet to come to light.

Past cases involving hip-hop figures have shown that it is rarely that straightforward.

Rappers who continue to affiliate with gang members for the sake of "street cred" often become involved in more than one dispute.

For example, it was rumored that New York rapper Stretch Walker was murdered due to his public fallout with Tupac Shakur. However, the killing was most likely orchestrated by a drug dealer whom Stretch had stolen cocaine from.

Shakur's murder in 1996 is often attributed to the infamous East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry, even though his assault on a Crips gang member named Orlando Anderson remains the most likely cause.

It is unlikely that VL Mike's murder will ever be solved, as many people from "the hood" consider it an unwritten rule not to cooperate with the authorities.

From their perspective, it is much safer to remain silent.

Often, they would be "snitching" on extremely violent individuals who live in the same neighborhood, men who have relatives and associates who are more than willing to exact revenge on their behalf.

Besides the lack of cooperation, the police were also hindered by the gang violence that had been plaguing the streets of New Orleans.

In the four days leading up to the shooting, the city witnessed six separate killings. From the police's perspective, the incident was yet another gang-related murder with no concrete evidence or witnesses.

As a result, the investigation swiftly stalled.

Mike VL's murder remains unsolved.