Toronto Music Community Mourns After Smoke Dawg Reportedly Shot and Killed

UPDATE: A GoFundMe page has been created for Smoke Dawg and Kosi Modekwe's (Koba Prime) funeral funds. You can donate to Smoke here and Kosi here.

Two members of Toronto’s rap community were reportedly shot and killed on Saturday night in a downtown incident involving multiple victims. A CP24 report says the shooting happened outside Cube Nightclub in the area of Queen Street West and Peter Street, in the city’s Entertainment District, shortly before 8 p.m. Police said the suspects may have fled in a black SUV or a white car following the chaotic daylight attack. Two males and one female were rushed to hospital in serious to critical condition, with the two men being pronounced dead shortly after.

Members of the hip-hop community and associates say the deceased was Smoke Dawg, an up-and-coming rapper who was part of the music collective Halal Gang. As well as Koba Prime, from the rap collective, Prime. The two groups regularly came together to form supergroup Full Circle.

The crew rose to attention two years ago with the coming-of-age Toronto anthem "Still" that indoctrinated the "Ginobli Dance" into a viral phenomenon and local anthem "Trap House." Smoke Dawg was regarded by artists like ASAP Ferg, Skepta and Drake. Drake brought Smoke Dawg on the Boy Meets World European tour.

Koba Prime was an affiliate of the Prime collective, fronted by Jimmy and Donnie Prime and Jay Whiss. The group is a key component of downtown Toronto’s sound, known for working with artists like Murda Beatz and coining the “the 6” moniker for the city.

It's impossible to factor how much of a loss this is. Smoke was instrumental in the rise of current Toronto rap, documenting the struggles of the street life in the city. In the recent Noisey Meets video above, Smoke Dawg's family surrounded him with words of encouragement: "Just focus on your music. Like they say go hard, keep making music, and keep shining." Let us never forget the family and friends still in pain who mourn him and do our due diligence to respect them during this time. The Prime Boyz, of which Koba was a part of, were also featured in our feature length documentary 6ix Rising.