Music

Report: Local Rapper The Jacka Killed in Oakland Shooting

By Matt Crawford   |   February 2, 2015, 11:39 pm

February 8 Update: Less than a week after his death in Oakland, the San Francisco Chronicle is covering the life and untimely death of The Jacka with a front-page feature in its Sunday edition.

Since he died at the scene of the shooting on Monday, a large shrine has emerged on the East Oakland sidewalk with a steady stream of well wishers paying their respects. The paper says it’s “a loss that’s being mourned on the same scale as fellow Bay Area rap giants Tupac Shakur and Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks.”

Much like Shakur, who got his start in the music business in Oakland, The Jacka struggled to navigated the pitfalls of street life at a young age but was also deeply spiritual and connected to his community. He was a regular and Bay Area community organizations that benefit at-risk youth and his street lyrics were laced with messages about overcoming the challenges of poverty.

“Jacka was the level-headed, de facto leader, someone who made sure that all his friends had food on their table,” the authors Kevin Fagan and Spencer Whitney wrote in the Chronicle today. “In high school, even after he dropped out to pursue music, it wasn’t uncommon to see people waiting in his garage to get a $2 haircut from Jacka, or playing basketball by his house. He was known as a real character, not just for his music.” Read more HERE.

 

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February 2 Update: Dominic Newton, better known as Bay Area rapper The Jacka, was killed in Oakland Monday night during a shooting at MacAuthur Bulevard near 97th, according to a report by KPIX 5.

While never making a huge impact nationally, The Jacka curated a loyal Bay Area following with grimey street rhymes and an often understated delivery on his mixtapes, official album releases, and features on numerous tracks by other artists. One of his biggest musical achievements was his 2009 hit “Glamorous Lifestyle” featuring Fillmore rapper Andre Nickatina and produced by Traxamillion (video below).

Numerous celebrities paid tribute to the rapper on Twitter as the news spread Monday night, including from rappers Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan and Paul Wall and Freddie Gibbs, who tweeted that he would dedicate his March show in Oakland to The Jacka.

SF Weekly’s Eric K. Arnold wrote this about the rapper in 1999: Jacka’s combination of melodic, reggae-inspired cadences; hard-core street lingo; and ghetto-derived spirituality has given him an almost Tupac-esque appeal that’s more universal than regional. On Tear Gas, he sounds equally at home alongside Philadelphian rapper Freeway, N.Y.C. MC Cormega, Houston rapper Paul Wall, and L.A. lyricist Phil the Agony as with Bay Areans E-40, F.A.B., and Zion-I. His rugged, nimble verses hold their own against his esteemed guests on tracks like “Greatest Alive,” “Storm,” and “Get it In.”

No more details were available immediately after the report of The Jacka’s death. We will update this article as they arrive.

Reaction on Twitter:

 



PHOTOS: The Jacka and Husalah at the Catalyst in 2011

Comments

  1. The Jacka Dead, Bay Area Rapper Killed In Oakland Shooting February 4, 2015 at 2:11 pm

    […] Station reports that Jacka curated a loyal Bay Area following with his grimey street rhymes, mix tapes, album releases and features on numerous tracks by other […]

  2. revere February 3, 2015 at 8:09 am

    Sad u a legend Jacka, ur music still and always bumping rolling them cookies. Bay life

  3. Dank Karma February 3, 2015 at 1:27 am

    Tha jacka…… nuff said R.I.P. blood

Comments are closed.