22-year-old rapper MoneySign Suede killed in prison in suspected murder

Mexican-American rapper MoneySign Suede has been killed in a California prison in a suspected homicide.

The 22-year-old, real name Jaime Brugada Valdez, died on Tuesday, April 25, “with injuries consistent with a homicide”, according to officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Valdez’s lawyer, Nicholas Rosenberg, spoke to the LA Times, saying: “People are very shocked. He was a very popular guy, very mild-mannered. People loved him.

“They said it was a stabbing to the neck. They said they’re investigating.”

According to Rosenberg, Valdez had previously been attacked in prison aheaed of the fatal incident on Tuesday.

Since January he had been serving a 32-month sentence at the state prison in Soledad on a pair of gun charges in Riverside County. He was also facing an additional gun charge in Los Angeles County.

Valdez first recorded and published rap tracks at the age of 16 and began to gain significant popularity while still in his teens. His 2020 track ‘BACK TO THE BAG’ has more than 1 million views on YouTube.

In the same year he signed to Atlantic Records, the label which released his debut album ‘Parkside Baby’ in September 2022.

Fellow Mexican-American rapper Peysoh paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “You believed in me when nobody else did…you invested in me when nobody else did…you helped me find myself when i didnt even wanna find myself…you gave me a voice when i lost mine…and a shoulder to cry on when i was feeling hurt…

“LONG LIVE SUEDE.”

[Via: LA Times]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Editor & Digital Director, follow him on Twitter