Rapper Freaky Tah Killed For Revenge, Police Say

NEW YORK -- Lost Boyz rapper Freaky Tah was murdered for revenge, a source close to the investigation said Thursday (April 8).

And the 22-year-old Queens man charged last week with second-degree murder in last month's shooting is not believed to be the gunman, although he is believed to be involved, the source said.

Police said Wednesday they were searching for additional suspects. At the time, Rasheem Fletcher, who pleaded not guilty over the weekend to second-degree murder and was ordered held without bail, was accused of being the man in a ski mask who shot Freaky Tah (born Raymond Rogers) outside the Sheraton Hotel in Jamaica, Queens, early the morning of March 28.

But Officer Chris Cottingham, a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department's office of public information, said Thursday that statement was based on a mistaken assumption.

The police source said the murder was part of an ongoing feud. He would not elaborate.

Police investigating the Feb. 15 murder of rapper Big L in Harlem, meanwhile, said they have determined the two shootings were unrelated. Police had said they had looked into the possibility of a connection between the two murders, because Big L (born Lamont Coleman) and Freaky Tah were acquainted and had worked together.

Although no arrest has been made in the Harlem murder case, "We have an idea of who [killed Big L]," Lt. Ellen Caniglia said. She would not give further details.

In the Freaky Tah case, Fletcher could face from 25 years to life in prison, said Mary DeBourbon, spokesperson for the Queens district attorney's office.

The Lost Boyz first made a name for themselves with two underground hits, "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz and Benz" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless," from their 1996 debut album, Legal Drug Money.

A third Lost Boyz album, completed before the killing, is scheduled for release in June. It is to be called LB for Life.