The unborn trailer

The unborn trailer official

His Army friends told her he often loosened up the guys with his words and rhymes. He did not want to redeploy and left the Army as a specialist. He returned to Norfolk, got a job with the city and also worked at his mothers child-care center. He picked up odd jobs along the way, always hustling for extra money. He also kept rapping. He made a demo CD in a studio. Crandle, a music promoter in Pittsburgh, encouraged him. Get into every rap battle you can, Crandle said. You want to be seen. On Bonneys birthday, his cousin had him freestyle over a cellphone with producers. They were impressed, Crandle said. Bonney could rap about the streets, women and fatherhood to any beat, he said. Crandle had scheduled Bonney to perform at a Pittsburgh talent show. A week before the show, Crandle got the call telling him his cousin the unborn trailer official dead. His first thought, he said, was this is the dumbest thing Ive heard in my life. Crandle wishes someone had stepped between the men and cooled the exchange. Police soon identified Stress as Craig Robert Mounger, a 23-year-old school dropout, landscaper and aspiring rapper, according to court records. After the shooting, he fled to Puerto Rico and lived for several months near family before he was captured, according to testimony. He told the court in a written statement that he thinks hes an OK person. I just have to learn to take control of situations, watch who I hang around, and stop battle-rapping, and focus more on songs. A judge sentenced Mounger to 25 years in prison; he is appealing the conviction. Brent A. Johnson, chief deputy commonwealths attorney in Norfolk, said battle rap, like any verbal argument, can turn into a deadly confrontation when handguns are easily accessible. The confrontations often draw crowds offering a chance for others to step in and cool things down. The crowds also can add pressure, said Norfolk States Russell Hill, who is not related to Daquan Hill. Most battles end with laughs and hugs, he said. Hip-hop doesnt cause the violence. Some people are not mentally stable enough for this, Hill said. But when it works, he said, Its a surge of energy you cant touch. On Mothers Day, Diane Davis pulled out pictures and all of her sons cards. He never the unborn trailer official sending her one, she said, even from the war. He was in Iraq, and he came home safe, she said, and he lost his life in the street. Patricia Hill also re-reads the cards her son gave her. He left her with a few last written words: Love ya, Ma.