Chicago shooting suspect is Spotify Verified artist Awake The Rapper

The man arrested for the July 4th Chicago shooting that killed 6 and injured at least two dozen more was also a rapper with tracks on the major streaming services and presence on social media.

Robert E Crimo III, who used the stage name Awake The Rapper has a presence on Spotify where he was a Verified Artist as well as on Apple Music, YouTube, Bandsintown, Discord, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.

Crimo has the word “Awake” tattooed on his forehead.

All of the accounts have been taken down over the last 24 hours, but traces that remain online point to Crimo having 16,500 monthly listeners on Spotify. The streamer has confirmed that the tracks were removed in conjunction with an unnamed digital distributor.

There were troubling signs in the now deleted YouTube videos that include “concerning language and imagery that appeared to involve classrooms and stick-art depictions of people being shot,” reported The Verge. “Another clip seemed to be a music video for a rap song, which ended in Crimo wearing protective gear and handling bullets in what appeared to be a classroom.”

Photo released by Highland Park, IL Police Department

‘Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.