Swedish rapper C.Gambino, who was recently recognized as the country’s top hip hop artist of the year, has been tragically killed in a gang-related shooting in Gothenburg, according to Swedish law enforcement authorities.
The 26-year-old artist, whose real name was Karar Ramadan, was gunned down in a parking lot on Tuesday evening. He is not to be mistaken for the American rapper Childish Gambino. Swedish police have started a murder investigation, but no arrests have been made so far, according to an official statement.
Police have linked the murder to gang rivalry, revealing that C.Gambino was known to law enforcement. Images from the crime scene depict a bullet-riddled glass door in the parking lot.
C.Gambino’s latest song, “Sista Gang” (Last Time), was released on May 31 and has already garnered 700,000 streams on Swedish music streaming platform Spotify. His music draws approximately a million listeners monthly, as per Spotify’s data.
Petter Hallen, a Swedish rap expert, labeled C.Gambino as one of the greats of Swedish hip hop. He described the loss as a significant setback to the rap scene in both Gothenburg and Sweden as a whole. Hallen further noted the tragedy of the rapper’s recent shift in lyrics, from dark criminal themes to more emotional content and relationships.
This incident follows the death of another award-winning Swedish rapper, Einar, who was also killed in a gang shooting in Stockholm in October 2021. This escalating gang violence, initially tied to drug market control but now more often linked to personal vendettas and rivalries, has become a growing problem in Sweden, with shootings and bombings becoming frequent occurrences across the country.
