In the early hours of a chilly November morning in 1995, the life of Randy Walker, known in the burgeoning hip-hop world as Stretch, was violently cut short on the streets of Queens, New York. A native of Springfield Gardens, Queens, the 27-year-old rapper was a towering figure, both in stature at over six feet tall, and in the burgeoning rap scene as a producer and member of the group Live Squad alongside his brother.
He was born to an African American father and a Jamaican immigrant mother.
On November 30, 1995, exactly one year to the day after his friend and collaborator Tupac Shakur was shot in a Manhattan recording studio, Walker was driving his green minivan through his neighborhood. After dropping off his brother, he was pursued by assailants in a black car who opened fire. The chase ended tragically at the intersection of 112th Avenue and 209th Street in Queens Village, where Walker was struck by multiple bullets. His vehicle crashed and overturned, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
While speculation initially swirled about a connection to his falling out with Tupac Shakur, who had publicly questioned Walker's loyalty after the 1994 shooting, sources close to the investigation pointed towards a different motive. It has been widely reported that Walker's death was the result of a drug deal gone wrong, alleging he had stolen a significant quantity of cocaine from a local dealer who then put a contract out on his life. His brother later confirmed that his death was related to street dealings, dismissing any involvement of Shakur.
In the years following the murder, a name surfaced in connection with the crime. Ronald 'Tenad' Washington, a career criminal, was identified as a suspect in Walker's death. This information came to light during the investigation into the 2002 murder of another hip-hop icon, Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, a case in which Washington was also a suspect. An unnamed witness reportedly claimed that Washington had confessed to having a role in Walker's killing. Despite being publicly named as a suspect in the murder of Randy Walker, and eventually being convicted in 2024 for the murder of Jam Master Jay, Ronald Washington was never formally charged or brought to trial for Walker's death. The murder of Randy 'Stretch' Walker officially remains unsolved.
