MO3

Born Melvin Noble in 1992, Dallas rapper MO3 first surfaced on the city’s Northside by laying out stark, unvarnished accounts of street existence. His commanding delivery and measured cadence paired with street-level narratives across 2017 releases such as 4 Indictments and Shottaz 3.0. A 2020 joint effort with Boosie Badazz preceded the November shooting that ended his life at the moment his profile was rising; the posthumous set Shottaz 4Eva appeared on H$M/Empire early the next year.

MO3’s recording career began with the 2014 mixtape Shottaz, which earned him a regional audience and secured a contract with his longtime hero, Texas rapper Boosie Badazz. Shottaz Reloaded closed out 2015 and carried “Hold Ya Tongue,” a track that later amassed nearly two million streams. The project reached number 14 on the Billboard Rap chart and number two on the Heatseekers chart. Late 2016 brought 4 Indictments, which ascended to the top of the Heatseekers list in early 2017, while the Gangsta Love, Pt. 1 mixtape also surfaced that year.

Shottaz 3.0 arrived in 2018 and featured the cautionary single “Errybody,” another multi-million-stream success. Throughout 2019 MO3 concentrated on standalone tracks, among them the Aaliyah-sampling “No Feelings” and the brooding “Too Much Pride.” February 2020 yielded the collaborative mixtape Badazz MO3 with storied Louisiana rapper Boosie Badazz, which debuted at number 136 on the Billboard 200. On November 11 of that year, MO3 was pursued in a vehicle chase along a major Dallas interstate; after crashing, he was fatally shot by an unidentified gunman while attempting to escape on foot.