An East Garfield Park man has been charged with fatally stabbing a well-known local rapper Wednesday afternoon near Metra tracks in the River West neighborhood.
Walter Long Jr., 24, got into a fight with Kevin Alexander, 23, who pulled out a sharp object about 3:20 p.m. in the 400 block of North Clinton, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Long suffered a laceration to his upper left torso and was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:52 p.m., authorities said. He lived in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
Alexander was taken into custody about 5:25 p.m. at the University of Illinois Hospital, where he was being treated for a laceration to his chin, police said. He was charged with one count of first degree murder and was expected to appear in bond court Friday.
According to the Chicago hip hop blog Fake Shore Drive, Long was a rapper who was as a founding member of the group PIVOT Gang. He was currently performing as dinnerwithjohn after previously using the stage name John Walt. He last played Jan. 6 at Lincoln Hall on the North Side.
According to those who knew him, Long was a big part of the young music community.
Chicago rapper and producer, Twista, got a text in L.A. as he was getting ready for Grammy week.
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“He actually worked at my studio,” he told NBC 5 in a FaceTime interview. “Hard for me to see young guys who worked with him go through this.”
The Pivot Gang said on social media the group appreciated the condolences.
“Yesterday we lost a brother. Tho these are hard times, all the love & stories have helped greatly. @dinnerwithjohn will live forever! #Pivot” the group tweeted.
