CyHi almost became hip-hop’s latest shooting victim when his Bentley SUV was showered with bullets in Atlanta last month, causing a car crash and injuries. The rapper has now spoken about why he believes what could’ve been a failed assassination attempt was actually case of mistaken identity.
“To me, I feel like it could have been a mistaken identity because I do have a vehicle that a lot of other stars and MCs have that are here, artists that are here,” he said during an interview with HipHopDX, a section of which is embedded above. Although his talent allowed him to escape the perils of street life, CyHi understands his former associates aren’t that fortunate. As a result, he’s not ruling out the possibility of a targeted hit for his loved ones’ transgressions.
“But also when I’m out of town and I’m doing my Wyoming thing, Sunday Service and writing for other artists, I do have loved ones and friends who might be indulging in things that may not necessarily connect to me or I may necessarily not know about because I’m not in the loop like I was when I was a lot younger,” he continued. “When you grow up and people are feuding and it’s a lot of street beef and it’s a lot of rap beef, everybody’s kind of involved. Sometimes people may think that you’re more involved than what you are due to your past affiliations or that.”
Atlanta police have been investigating the incident since it occurred in February, but have been unable to nail down a suspect. CyHi doesn’t think this due to a lack of effort. “Unfortunately, man, in our culture, it’s not cool to talk to the police,” he continued. “It’s not cool to cooperate and different things like that. So, a lot of murders and a lot of assaults and different things that go on in the minority or Black community don’t get solved due to our lack of cooperation or respect for law enforcement.”
The lack of leads and CyHi telling the tale in a new single, “Black Superhero,” just 10 days later led some to speculate the entire incident was an over-the-top publicity stunt. He assures those people there are multiple potential motives for the shooting, and commenting on the near-fatal event through music is part of his healing process.
“To be honest, it’s almost therapeutic,” he told HipHopDX. “This is not the first attempt. When I was younger, we got into things, but that was almost warranted. It was almost like OK, you’re preparing your mind for it. You’re in this chaotic street gang and you kind of making money. So your mind is prepared for these type of situations.”
Describing the attack in February, CyHi wrote on Instagram, ”They where shooting at me while I was driving and even after my car flipped, hit a pole and crashed into a tree, they came back and shot the car up some more. At this point I don’t know if it was a mistaken identity, a robbery, or associated with something that I did when I was younger but I haven’t been in the streets in over a decade.”
