A rapper who went viral for his baby shark version has been shot to death, presumably by a petty criminal who tried to rob him.
Ralan Styles, whose real name is Michael Robinson, 22, was shot multiple times at a home in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Witnesses said the alleged killer tried to steal the chain from his neck and shot him in an ensuing fight before fleeing.
Police were called to the Victorian Village neighborhood shortly before 5 a.m. and a man flagged them down and led them inside.
Ralan Styles, real name Michael Robinson, 22, was shot multiple times at a home in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Styles went viral in 2022 with his dark and brooding rap remix of Baby Shark (pictured in the music video) which was viewed millions of times online.
Officers found Styles, originally from Tallahassee, Florida, bleeding from gunshot wounds and tried to revive him until paramedics arrived.
Attempts at CPR failed and he was pronounced dead at 5.10am.
Witnesses gave police a detailed description of the shooter and found 24-year-old Mahamood Hassan nearby, matching the description.
He was arrested and charged with murder after witnesses identified him in a police line-up as the shooter.
Hassan is behind bars at the Franklin County Jail and will appear in court on Monday. He has three prior arrests for burglary and robbery.
Officers found Styles bleeding from gunshot wounds and tried to revive him until paramedics arrived. Attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation failed and he was pronounced dead at 5:10 a.m.
Witnesses said the alleged killer tried to steal the chain from Styles’ neck (pictured with his brother) and shot him in an ensuing fight before fleeing.
Styles’ brother, a rapper known as ‘Lil Goat,’ mourned him online in the hours after his death and posted videos of them together.
‘Not my little brother. “I’m still waiting for you to call me and tell me this is all a joke,” he wrote on Instagram.
‘My heart is fucking broken, I will never be the same. We went from rapping together at the lunch table in high school to becoming superstars.
‘We slept together on the floor, we ate together, we fought together, we signed our first agreement together. I love you brother, and as long as I am alive you will never die.
‘Take care of me. Rest in peace to my little brother. Save a place for me up there, my heart.’
Styles’ brother, a rapper known as ‘Lil Goat,’ mourned him online in the hours after his death and posted videos of them together.
Baby Shark landed him a record deal with Republic Records and he attended the Republic Records BET Awards in June with YK Osiris (left)
His friend Jared Krumm wrote that “they lost you too young.”
“Over the past two years (my brother) Jake and I were able to experience the fun, energetic and talented person you were,” she wrote.
‘There was never a dull moment with you, whether we were in the studio, chilling in Jake’s basement, or just driving to McDonald’s. You had an energy that will NEVER be forgotten.’
Styles went viral in 2022 with his dark and haunting rap remix of the cultural phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2019.
His version was viewed more than four million times on YouTube and more on TikTok, earning him a record deal with Republic Records.
He attended the Republic Records BET Awards in June and released Polyamorous with Justina Valentine.