Cali Swag Rapper Killed In Drive-By Shooting

UPDATE: 4:04PM

M-Bone of Cali Swag District didn’t seem to be a random drive-by shooting, according to recent reports.

KTLA reports that the rapper was shot outside of a liquor store as he sat in a parked car in Inglewood, California on LaBrea.

A red Mustang pulled along side of the vehicle that held M-Bone, real name Montae Talbert, and opened fire Sunday evening. The rapper was shot dead.

M-Bone was hit twice and pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center.

Witnesses told authorities that the car returned to the scene after driving off, seemingly to make sure the victim was dead.

TMZ reports that the murder may have started with an e-beef on Twitter after M-Bone took up a relationship with a woman. The man that lived with the woman reportedly didn’t like the relationship and began to berate M-Bone on Twitter.

The incident may have lead to murder, but no definitive connection has been made, but M-Bone didn’t back down from the aggressors.
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(ORIGINAL STORY)
Authorities Monday were trying to determine a motive for the drive-by shooting of an acclaimed hip-hop artist who was slain after leaving a recording studio in his hometown of Inglewood.

Montae “M-Bone” Talbert, 22, was shot twice in the head Sunday night when he stopped at a liquor store after leaving the studio, police said.
The shooter fired from a vehicle that pulled up alongside Talbert’s car, according to police. He was taken a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Known for his sinuous moves, Talbert set off a national dance craze for the hip-hop group Cali Swag District.

The attack occurred shortly after Talbert and the group had recorded a follow-up album to the platinum hit “Teach Me How to Dougie,” according to associates.

Publicist Greg Miller said the shooting appeared to be an act of random violence, but authorities said they had not established a motive for the nighttime attack.

“We haven’t gotten any information he was the target of anything,” said Lt. Steve Overly of the Inglewood Police Department.

Miller issued a statement on behalf of the family, praising Talbert as an “inspiration to his family, friends and fans” and an artist whose talents will be missed. “He was a hardworking, passionate artist and dancer that will be deeply missed,” the statement said.

Monday afternoon, about 200 fans, family members and friends gathered for a vigil in front of the liquor store where Talbert was slain. While a crowd stood on a sidewalk, two women danced to “Teach Me How to Dougie.”


The slaying prompted several other rap artists to post on the Internet about the death, including Jayceon Terrell Taylor, who is known as “The Game.”

“Can I get a moment of silence for the lil homie M-Bone R.I.P. from Cali Swag District. A kid Gunned down in the streets of Los Angeles,” Taylor said.

Until 2009, Cali Swag District was four anonymous Inglewood teenagers making R&B/hip-hop hybrids. Then the group filmed the video for

“Teach Me How to Dougie,” setting off the biggest dance fad since Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” in 2007.

“Teach Me How to Dougie” reached No. 6 on the Billboard rap singles charts and sold about 2 million legal downloads. Justin Bieber taught Ellen Degeneres how to Dougie, and Ryan Seacrest and Jennifer Lopez gave it a whirl on “American Idol.”

Ebony West, who produced the hit under the name Runway Star, said Talbert was an exceptionally talented street dancer and “hype man” who worked up the crowds for Cali’s live shows.

“I’ve never seen the kid not smiling,” West said in a telephone interview. “He gave the crowds something to look at.”
West said Talbert had grown up with the other Cali Swag District members– Corey “Smoove” Fowler, Cahron “JayAre” Childs and Chante “Yung” Clee.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in January, Talbert’s musical mates called M-Bone “the craziest” member of the group.

Aggressively and colorfully tattooed, he was the most popular with the ladies, because, as he said himself, “I go after ‘em.”

Cali members said they had never been involved with gangs but couldn’t help knowing members, growing up in Inglewood in the late 1990s.

“Back then, when there were gangs it went hand in hand with drug dealing,” Fowler said. “Now drugs aren’t as big. Most of the gang beefs are over females.”

Before joining Cali Swag District, Talbert had been a promoter and a dancer. He never rapped, nor did he take dance lessons: his skills came naturally.

Though he mastered a variety of popular dance styles, his smooth swaggering performances of the Dougie, which originated in Texas, brought him to fame.

Simple in structure, the Dougie’s basic moves involve bending one’s knees and swaying from side-to-side, while twisting elbows and placing a hand on the back of the head a la 1980s rap icon Doug E. Fresh.

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