The rap artist known as Mike Ezie was killed by a single gunshot to the chest during an apparent attempted robbery in his South Richmond recording studio, authorities said yesterday.
Michael R. Mitchell, 30, whose last known address was in the 5700 block of Lorieville Lane, was dead when police found him Wednesday night. The studio is on the third floor of the Glenncroft Professional Building, 121 Wyck St., just northeast of Midlothian Turnpike and Chippenham Parkway.
Authorities said two males went into the building and left after Mitchell was shot. It was unclear what, if anything, was stolen. No arrests have been made.
Yesterday, friends and relatives returned and attached posters with messages such as "R.I.P. Mike Ezie" in a dimly lighted hallway beside the studio door.
Daltonya Perkinson, 19, walked through the hallway yesterday and wrote a message on one of the posters, telling Mitchell she always will remember the things he told her.
She quickly descended a stairwell to the first floor, then leaned against a wall and gazed out the front door.
"He was just an all-around good person; he was kind-hearted," Perkinson said, wiping tears from her face. "He touched a lot of people."
Perkinson said Mitchell had looked after her, made sure she did the right things and helped her get a job where he had once worked at a buffet restaurant in South Richmond.
A few minutes earlier, Mitchell's cousin, Cameron White, walked outside the building with some relatives, including two small children. They had come to hang the posters, but now White hurried them to the car. He appeared suspicious of a nearby vehicle.
Another vehicle, an SUV, cruised by as White stood there. Written on its back windshield was "RIP Mike."
White, who is a disc jockey and has spent time in the recording studio, said that normally people could get into the studio only if someone inside knew them.
"Everybody had their own things to say at the door," White said.
The Glenncroft building also houses a beauty parlor and several church ministries, said John Finn, who handles maintenance there. He said Mitchell had rented the studio there for several years.
According to the blog rapliesandvideotape.com, Mitchell "was known as 'Mike Ezie,' a member of a collective of emcees known as the 'Young Richmond Outcasts.' Their songs include 'Weirdo Stank,' 'Let the Cops Everything' and 'My Buddy and Me.' The group, which consists of ChiChi the Kid, Heir Borne, Jwrek, Jaesen K, Jay Dash, Real and Mike Ezie, incorporated the logo and spelling from the Atlanta rap duo 'Outkast.'"
"He was trying to put Virginia on the map," said cousin Pamela Hall. "He always represented Virginia."
Investigators ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.
Staff writer Frank Green contributed to this report.
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