As the hip hop community mourns the loss of 21-year-old rapper Juice Wrld, YNW Melly is subject to false rumors that he was stabbed in prison, which left many of his fans believing he is dead. The claims are fake, and the 20-year-old rapper is still alive.
YNW Melly is currently behind bars after being arrested in March after police accused the Murder on My Mind rapper of murdering his two friends Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy) and Anthony Williams Henry (YNW Sakchaser).
The rumor about his death started after a prank website called nsfnews.com claimed that YNW Melly had been stabbed and was in a critical condition after what was described as a “gang-related incident”.
Wtf is happened to the rap world. Know we got YNW Melly Getty stabbed in jail, this world is so fucking messed up. pic.twitter.com/Nz7gPjhaM4
— AwayyyPigeon (@AwayyyP) December 9, 2019
The hoax story received thousands of shares on Facebook, while a similar fake article — originally posted in April 2019, and which claimed YNW Melly had died — was also widely shared.
The false claims were later picked up by an outlet which features in the ‘Top Stories’ feature at the top of Google search results, which said the reports were unconfirmed but which made no reference to the story starting on a hoax website.
tell me this is fake news on ynw melly ? pic.twitter.com/0DmmZWbFNl
— santandave? (@DavidTelling5) December 9, 2019
At one point YNW Melly’s Wikipedia page was also changed to claim he had passed away.
https://twitter.com/kbaileymufc/status/1204155487194931200
Twitter reacted to the hoax claiming that YNW Melly died in prison.
YNW Melly got stabbed to death in the can? pic.twitter.com/0YxSEzLPvE
— Gulag Conqueror (@YourBoyJJ_) December 9, 2019
There's a rumor circulating that YNW Melly was stabbed in jail during a gang fight. Can anyone verify this?
— Angel of Death ? (@MamaSophia666) December 9, 2019
so did ynw melly get stabbed or are you guys just playing a sick joke .
— macey. (@1maceyy) December 9, 2019
However, there were no credible reports suggesting that the No Heart rapper was stabbed or died in prison, and his official Instagram page later confirmed the rumors about his death were fake.
Guys YNW Melly isn’t dead. Whoever runs his insta just confirmed it y’all can go to sleep happy pic.twitter.com/x31jQtvAUs
— OG SD (@SdavinoR) December 10, 2019
Last month, YNW Melly released his debut album Melly vs. Melvin while behind bars. The incarcerated rapper generated a headline for paying tribute to Juice Wrld following his unexpected death.
In an Instagram tribute, YNW Melly shared a snippet of his plan to remix his single Suicidal with the late rapper with the following caption. “Rest In Peace @juicewrld999. Legend gone [too] soon.”
Melly, real name Jamell Demons, turned himself into authorities and pleaded not guilty to the double murder charges of his two friends.
Last month, prosecutors released crime scene photos taken by the Miramar Police Department. Police accuse the 20-year-old rapper of planning the double murder by claiming his friends YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser were victims of a drive-by. The prosecution claims that the ballistics test proves Melly is the shooter and his cellphone tracking proves that he was at the crime scene.