There’s no doubt anymore. Last night’s bloodbath outside the Artis Lounge on Chicago Avenue wasn’t random. It was a hit, and the targets were clear: Mello Buckzz, real name Melanie Doyle, and her boyfriend, Rodney “Lil Rah” Stokes, a known figure in the city’s underground music scene. Eighteen people were shot. Four are dead. But this wasn’t just senseless street violence. This was music industry beef turned bloody, and it’s about to unravel fast. In the shadowy world of local rap promotion and production, the egos are larger than the budgets, and everyone thinks they’re the next Suge Knight. Scratch the surface and you’ll find disputes over royalties, stolen beats, canceled bookings, unpaid studio time, and disloyalty worse than sleeping with someone’s baby mama. It’s a boiling pot of betrayal and ambition, and Rodney Stokes wasn’t just the rapper’s boyfriend. He was her fixer, her enforcer, her day-to-day gatekeeper. And that made him dangerous. Insiders say Stokes was deep in th...

Another bloodbath exploded in the heart of Chicago’s so-called “River North”,   not exactly a war-torn country, but you wouldn’t know it from the body count. Eighteen people shot. Four are dead. And once again, the media tiptoes around the real issue like it’s made of glass. This isn’t about skin color. It’s about a toxic, self-destructive culture that’s been coddled, glorified, and excused for far too long. Politicians won’t touch it. Journalists won’t name it. And until someone grows a spine and calls it what it is, we’ll just keep counting bodies. Here’s the scene: a group of mostly women was gathered outside the Artis Lounge at 311 W. Chicago Ave., fresh off a rapper party. Suddenly, a dark SUV rolls up. Gunmen open fire into the crowd like it’s open season. Screams, chaos, bodies hitting the pavement. Blood everywhere. Mello Buckzz,  real name Melanie Doyle was apparently the host of this glamorous disaster. Her boyfriend and best friend are among the dead. That doesn’...