On October 8, 2013, Tavache "Trife" Kizer, a 38-year-old rapper from Chicago, was fatally shot while his car was being repaired in South Dorchester. Kizer, known in the local music community as "Trife," was not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting. The circumstances suggest that it was a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
At the time of his death, Kizer was working on a music video titled "Respect the Youth," a project that aimed to highlight the ongoing violence epidemic in Chicago and serve as a tribute to victims of violence, such as Hadiya Pendleton and Trayvon Martin.
Kizer's death occurred in a broader context of increasing gun violence affecting aspiring artists in Chicago. Known for rapping about anti-violence themes, Kizer was described as wanting to shed light on the harsh realities faced by Chicago's youth, and his murder was a tragic irony considering the anti-violence message of his latest work. He was a father and a husband, leaving behind a grieving family and community. Despite his efforts to promote positive change, his life ended in a manner all too common in neighborhoods plagued by violence.
His killing happened just weeks after the shooting of another young Chicago rapper, Leonard "L’A Capone" Anderson. Like many others, no arrests were made in Kizer's case, underscoring the difficulty of solving gun-related homicides in Chicago, especially amidst a culture of silence and fear. The loss of Kizer and other artists has highlighted the urgent need for interventions to address the root causes of violence and create safer environments for community members to thrive.
