r.i.p.big hawk
by Trae
Houston rapper Big Hawk of the Screwed Up Click was shot and killed on May 1st, 2006. As of press time, no suspects have been arrested. Fellow Screwed Up Click rapper Trae weighs in on his partna’s death:
H
awk is my O.G. You know, he’s one of the originators of the Screwed Up Click. I was one of the youngest ones out of the camp, me and Chris Ward, so Hawk was like the O.G. of the camp, him and DJ Screw. I was up under they wings a lot. As time went by we became very close, like brothers. He didn’t deserve that. Hawk never had no enemies. If you even check the background, he never even had plex with music. It wasn’t no problems at all. If anything, he helped a lot of people. He’s featured on a lot of people’s songs. Lil niggas from the hood would reach out and he’d do the features. He never had no problems. That bullet wasn’t meant for him; that’s all I can really tell you. He wasn’t one of the people that would make you even think that. You wouldn’t think that my homie would get murdered like that. That wasn’t for him. He was a family man. Man, it’s time for us to man up and understand when you’re wrong. People are wrong about a lot of shit. It’s time for people to be on some grown man shit. A lot of us rappers have kids, so shit, niggas need to get they grown man on and think before they act. For example, look at what happened to me. I lost a lot of people coming up so I had to mature a lot faster. I had to make my own decisions; some of them were right, but some of them were wrong. I was out robbin’ people and fucked around and caught a case that could’ve fucked me up for the rest of my life. That was me being stupid, but it was also the fact that I was brought into these streets at an earlier time than I should’ve been. If I had been older and had guidance I probably would’ve been better, but when kids lose their parents, they don’t have that guidance. Everybody needs a father figure in their life. If they don’t have it, they tend to make the wrong decisions. Some people weather the storm, but some people don’t. I weathered the storm, but I fucked up too. I wasn’t out there robbing just to rob; I was robbing to take stress off my mother’s back so I wouldn’t have to see her struggling. She had already lost one son to the penitentiary so I was robbing really trying to feed me and my brother so she wouldn’t be stressed out. But that’s something I had to learn. If any rapper is out here acting crazy thinking it ain’t gonna hurt the kids, that’s a lie. A lot of rappers grew up without their parents and that’s why they got caught up in these streets real fast. Even I had it fucked up. I had to sit back and think with certain situations. I had to sit back and tell myself, Trae, you cannot react how you do in the streets all the time. You gotta slow down cause you’re older now and you have a family. So I understand that and respect that and a lot of other niggas need to do the same. That shit don’t feel good when you’re losing someone close to you. It don’t feel good to kids to lose their fathers. People need to understand, stop trying to prove yourself in the streets. These streets are so crossed right now you don’t know the definition of real and fake. People got the definitions crossed. I’m only 25 and I’ve lost so many people – from [DJ] Screw to [Fat] Pat to Hawk to Mafio to my brother Dickie doing three life sentences to his girlfriend to his baby mama. I’ve lost so many people it don’t make no sense. But it don’t do nothing but make me a stronger man than what I was before. Even though pain ain’t good to deal with, that’s what I’m used to. I know that God has me down here for a reason. I’m the one who stays strong and keeps everybody’s head straight in the situation. Our camp the Screwed Up Click as a whole, we’ve bonded and become real close recently. Now we’re really closer than ever because Hawk was the leader. When Screw passed he became the leader and now we’ve lost another leader. So we’ve really gotta bring it home for him. Especially when I turn in my album, right now I’m really pumpin’ it to make sure everybody’s able to see him on BET. People need to see him and hear him. My album is wrapped up but I’m tryin’ to get them to push it back right now [to add a Hawk tribute]. All of us have lost someone, so all of us have a lot to say. My main thing right now is to be here and be strong for his family, his wife and his kids and his sisters and just the whole camp. I’m focused. I’m having a terrible month but I’m gonna bounce back. I’m a grown man and I’m gonna take care of this situation. I’m in these streets 24/7 and the streets talk. If the police don’t find out [who killed Hawk], I’m gonna find out. One way or the other, I won’t rest until they find out who took my homie. Until we get that solved, it’s hard for me to focus on music cause that’s always on my mind. Everything’s gonna fall into place, I know it is, as long as you’ve got God in your life. I’ma finish it off by sayin’ what Big Hawk would say: On behalf of the Screwed Up Click and ABN, ghetto dreams will be fulfilled. R.I.P. Big Hawk, Fat Pat, R.I.P. DJ Screw, R.I.P. Mafio, R.I.P. Gator, and free Dinkie! 18
OZONE
Trae’s tattoo, in memory of Big Hawk; inset: Trae and Big Hawk at a video shoot earlier this year (Photos: Matt Sonzala)