Tweet
22-year-old rapper Steven Zorn, who used the moniker Mr. Pit because of his affinity for pit bulls, died on November 19 after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a pen gun while celebrating his recent record deal with friends.
Zorn, hailing from the small Ohio town of St. Paris, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton, had recorded his first CD, Raw Meat, and had plans to distribute the album through Koch Records, with the help of producer Lemoyne Alexander.
In the summer of 2004, Zorn attended a music conference in Chicago where he met the experienced producer. Alexander, who has worked with artists including Aaliyah, Twista, Will Smith and Layzie Bone, saw something in the young rapper and decided to work with him.
"This dude had a big voice," Alexander told the Dayton Daily News, comparing Zorn to Eminem and Pitbull. "I got with him and said, 'Let's make this happen. We're going to make you a star.'"
"He was really, really dedicated to doing this," Zorn's friend and mentor, Atlanta based rapper Miracle said in the Dayton Daily News. "A lot of other people say they want to do this, but after a month or so they drop it. Whatever I'd tell him to do he'd do it that way, he'd take it to heart, and I'd say, 'Just be yourself and do it naturally.'"
According to the Dayton Daily News, about a week before he died, a friend gave Zorn a pen gun, which was jammed at the time. On the evening of Nov. 18, Zorn was celebrating his record deal at home with two friends, Shane Hanes and Cody Cornette, seniors from nearby Graham High School. According to witness accounts sometime after 11 p.m. a drunken Zorn walked up to his computer and pulled the pen gun out of his pocket and started playing with it.
Friends and family say Zorn believed the weapon was inoperable, that the .25-caliber bullet was jammed. Zorn held the gun to the right side of his head and clicked three times. The gun fired on the third click and Zorn fell to the floor.
He was flown by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he was declared brain-dead but kept alive long enough to donate organs. He died on November 19. With a bright musical future ahead for the young man, family, friends and the local law enforcement all believe that his death was accidental.
Zorn's memory lives on through www.MrPit.net, a website created by Zorn and friends. The site provides information about the late rapper and his music, and will include an online store for clothing and other merchandise. Proceeds from sales will help Zorn's mother spread the word on pen guns and gun tragedies. Since his death, Lemoyne Alexander has said he still plans to release Zorn's CD, as well as others from the hundreds of tracks Zorn left behind. Video tributes and a memorial concert featuring Miracle are also in the works.
Source: sohh.com
Zorn, hailing from the small Ohio town of St. Paris, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton, had recorded his first CD, Raw Meat, and had plans to distribute the album through Koch Records, with the help of producer Lemoyne Alexander.
In the summer of 2004, Zorn attended a music conference in Chicago where he met the experienced producer. Alexander, who has worked with artists including Aaliyah, Twista, Will Smith and Layzie Bone, saw something in the young rapper and decided to work with him.
"This dude had a big voice," Alexander told the Dayton Daily News, comparing Zorn to Eminem and Pitbull. "I got with him and said, 'Let's make this happen. We're going to make you a star.'"
"He was really, really dedicated to doing this," Zorn's friend and mentor, Atlanta based rapper Miracle said in the Dayton Daily News. "A lot of other people say they want to do this, but after a month or so they drop it. Whatever I'd tell him to do he'd do it that way, he'd take it to heart, and I'd say, 'Just be yourself and do it naturally.'"
According to the Dayton Daily News, about a week before he died, a friend gave Zorn a pen gun, which was jammed at the time. On the evening of Nov. 18, Zorn was celebrating his record deal at home with two friends, Shane Hanes and Cody Cornette, seniors from nearby Graham High School. According to witness accounts sometime after 11 p.m. a drunken Zorn walked up to his computer and pulled the pen gun out of his pocket and started playing with it.
Friends and family say Zorn believed the weapon was inoperable, that the .25-caliber bullet was jammed. Zorn held the gun to the right side of his head and clicked three times. The gun fired on the third click and Zorn fell to the floor.
He was flown by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he was declared brain-dead but kept alive long enough to donate organs. He died on November 19. With a bright musical future ahead for the young man, family, friends and the local law enforcement all believe that his death was accidental.
Zorn's memory lives on through www.MrPit.net, a website created by Zorn and friends. The site provides information about the late rapper and his music, and will include an online store for clothing and other merchandise. Proceeds from sales will help Zorn's mother spread the word on pen guns and gun tragedies. Since his death, Lemoyne Alexander has said he still plans to release Zorn's CD, as well as others from the hundreds of tracks Zorn left behind. Video tributes and a memorial concert featuring Miracle are also in the works.
Source: sohh.com
Comment