Over the weekend street violence claimed the life of yet another talented musician.
John King was a son of the "Pink Jungle" whose now poignant street ballads, "Cursed", "Cry" and "My Break" now tell the story of a young man's struggle to be seen and heard for his art despite his often limiting circumstances.
It's a story that began almost a year ago when John was shot while visiting a friend on Victoria street, and while you'd think that he'd avoid the home of that friend moving forward, he went back, and this time lost his life in the same place place where he once narrowly escaped death.
And since that moment there's been an outpouring of love and and regret for the performer who in his music painted a picture of an urban struggle one in which he fought for self-actualization, understanding and perhaps even relevance.
And tonight John King's story is a mirror image of many many young men who have gone before him but young as he was the music he's left behind forms some semblance of a legacy.
This is the house on Victoria Street where musical artist John King was shot back in June, and on Saturday, quite tragically, it became the site of his murder. It's terrible both for King's community in the jungle and Belize's artist community as a whole because it seems that King was as his own song claimed "cursed" to lose what he called his second chance.
Here's some of what he told me when I spoke to him in June.
posted (June 29, 2021)
John King, Footballer/ Artist
"I know I'm a good person and humble, but I put the actions in God's hands, and I'll always be honest about that. I forgive and I forget sometimes, but sometimes the ghetto youths they have to understand you know sometimes they have to put down the gun too, you dig because it's innocent people getting hurt and it doesn't make sense anymore mean, to beef and to beef."
Janelle King, Sister
"He got shot there before so I guess the question that everyone is asking is why would you go back and in our belief that he, the person that lives at the house, he is his childhood friend and I guess, I can't speak for him but I would believe that ---if I go there I'll get shot again. I mean --took very lightly. As far as being gang-affiliated my brother is not."
Cherisse Halsall:
"The gunman shouted Evil before he shot, why that wor, well that is the young man's nickname ----went and opened the door and that is how he came to his fate."
Janelle King, Sister
"I am mostly feeling confused you know but I mean who are we to cheat destiny, that is the only thing that I can say for myself that gives me peace with what happened to my brother. If you see what he meant to people on Facebook he is more, he is twice that to us so it is really a low blow for us that this happened to my brother."
The Commissioner agrees with the family telling our the press this morning that the singer was far from a troubled youth.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Mr King is not known to be a gang member, that's the truth, do he hang out with gang members? Yes, he do have associates who are gang members, but he was not out there as a gang member, perhaps it could be that he was targeted due to his affiliation with certain gang figures. And from the way the innocent occurred, it certainly peppers as if he as indeed the target. It's hard, we're really and truly trying to wrap our finger around that one to ascertain a motive - and we have not been able to get one."
"Were doing a lot in the jungle area and looking at those groups that we believe are responsible with a view to avert any retaliation."
And territorial revenge aside King and his potential are being mourned by the creatives who formed his second family.
Omar Aldana "Celebrity"- Artist Manager
"Out of the many artists that I met in Belize he had so much character and feeling in his voice. Just a very unique voice a lot of eeling and just a lot of life.Some people are just naturals and he was singing from his heart and that makes a difference. When an artist sings from their heart you can hear it."
"He gave me so much inspiration that I broke my own rule, I broke my own rules. I put him ahead of other artists --because I was so excited and I began ---his energy and his music."
And this afternoon still wallowing in the sadness of a life cut short. A group of King's friends stood together to express their regrets and to remember him.
Davin Humes "The One Salam" - Artist/ Videographer
"He has always been a representation of positivity ----exhume positivity and that is what has been robbed from not only the artist community, the sports community but the Belizean community as a whole."
Ryan "6 Frass" Smith, Artist
"He was the party man any time you saw him he was partying he always wanted to party just last saturday --John King they no normal -life of the party check."
Joseph "J Monie" Lopez, Artist
"We just said well this weekend we have to go right here and mash up San Pedro again --I definitely felt a real real weight ---right here and perform ----but so ih go."
Delroy "Delly" Cardinez, Artist
"I wasn't in the facility -but I got a call where I got an understanding that the door was locked ----people ran for their ----opened the door look like he got shot and the first shout caught him in the face by his neck piece here."
Cherisse Halsall:
"So, ten it wasn't john who was targeted just the house?"
Delroy "Delly" Cardinez, Artist
"John King is not a bad person mein you get the space they bally just take that as like an easy lane ---it has to stop."
But despite the street logic King's manager, like his sister maintains that John wouldn't have seen danger coming
Omar Aldana "Celebrity" - Artist Manager
"I'll say one thing about John King, one thing he preached about and the one thing that brought about his demise was his loyalty, the one thing he talked about was that he was really loyal to the people who loved him and looked out for him and you know a lot of youths stray and go out to the streets because of the camaraderie and the friendships that they build --his decision is something I could see many youths making the same mistake because that's all we know and the situation in which we grew up and the only logical reason for him to be there was to be amongst friends which he knew."
It's a loyalty that betrayed his sense of self-preservation and tonight makes John King, like Mr. Program and others before them, a victim of the same circumstances he immortalized in song. `
John King leaves behind two boys ages 6 years and 6 months old.
