Young Scooter, the prolific Atlanta rapper known for his collaborations with Future, Gucci Mane, and Young Thug, has died at the age of 39.
The rapper born Kenneth Bailey died from injuries he sustained while fleeing a house in Atlanta after police were called to the residence on a report of shots fired, Atlanta police homicide commander Lt. Andrew Smith said at a news conference Friday following the incident.
According to police, when authorities arrived at the house, two men fled the residence; an unnamed man ultimately returned to the house, while the other — later identified as Bailey —”jumped two fences while he was fleeing,” Smith said. “When officers located him on the other side of the fence, he appeared to have suffered an injury to his leg.”
Bailey was treated for his injuries at the scene and was soon transported to an area hospital where he died Friday, which also marked Bailey’s 39th birthday. “The injury that was sustained was not via the officers on scene,” Smith said. “It was when the male was fleeing.”
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said that an autopsy will take place on Saturday, while police added the incident remains an active investigation, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
As Young Scooter, Bailey released dozens of mixtapes, and was one of the first rappers signed to Freebandz, the label founded by Future, a childhood friend of Bailey’s. Young Scooter also appeared on Future tracks like “Birds Take a Bath,” “Doh Doh,” “Stayed Down” of 2022’s I Never Liked You, and the 2018 hit “Jet Lag” alongside Future and Juice WRLD.
Bailey also frequently recorded alongside Gucci Mane, appearing on their 2013 collaborative mixtape Free Bricks 2, as well as a handful of songs off Mane’s albums Trap God and Trap God 2, the latter featuring “Bullet Wound” that paired the rappers with Lil Wayne. Young Scooter also guested on songs by Young Thug (including Jeffrey’s “Guwop”), Migos (“Holmes”), Zaytoven, and Waka Flocka Flame.
Playboi Carti was among the artists in the hip-hop community to pay tribute to Young Scooter following news of his death, writing on social media, “I grew up on dis shit SMH RIP.”
