A rising Mississippi rapper has been charged in connection to a deadly shooting.
According to WREG, Superstar Pride was arrested Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge in Panola County, located about two and a half hours outside of Jackson. Deputies responded to reports of gunfire at home on Highway 35 North, where they discovered the lifeless body of Marcus Wheatley, a 40-year-old man who had died from apparent gunshot wounds.
Authorities immediately launched an investigation and identified Superstar Pride — legal name Cadarrius Pride — as the primary suspect. A warrant for the man’s arrest was issued later that day, which prompted Superstar Pride’s family to contact him. Chief Deputy Reginald Lantern told WREG the rapper surrendered to deputies shortly before 5 p.m. local time, and was transported to the Panola County Detention Center. WRGE reports the rapper is being held without bond.
Details of the investigation remain scarce at this point, as officials have not provided any details about the fatal incident, including a motive and the suspect’s relationship with the victim.
Superstar Pride is best known for his 2022 breakout record “Painting Pictures,” which has garnered more than 27 million YouTube views. The song, which appeared on his 5lbs of Pressure EP, generated quite the buzz on TikTok, so much so that “Painting Pictures” entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 99 and eventually surged to No. 25.
“I’m very appreciative of TikTok. Now I have to find my way to stay alive in the game without TikTok, because TikTok can’t hold you up,” he told Billboard back in May. “Bruh, that (‘Painting Pictures’) reached No. 25. It’s different. The ultimate goal is to get rewards out of this. So when you go No. 1, you get rewards. I value [the charts].”
Superstar Pride went on to say that his other “ultimate goal” is to “help people that’s not confident be more confident in themselves.”
“I wasn’t confident in myself, but I knew I had the power within,” he explained. “But I was just never confident. Then when I got the confidence — look at it now.”
Stay tuned as more information about the murder case becomes available.
