Editor’s note: This report was originally published on November 11, 2020, before Dallas police publicly named the deceased. The department identified him later that evening as Melvin A. Noble, the rapper known as Mo3.
Dallas rapper Mo3, born Melvin A. Noble, died after he was shot on a Dallas freeway on November 11, 2020. He was 28.
The freeway shooting
According to the Dallas Police Department’s incident account, officers responded at about noon to northbound Interstate 35 at Clarendon Drive. Police said a suspect in a dark-colored car got out with a firearm and approached Noble’s vehicle. Noble left his car and ran south on the freeway; the suspect chased him and fired multiple rounds.
Noble was taken to a hospital, where he died. An adult male bystander sitting in another vehicle was also struck and taken to a hospital with injuries police said were not life-threatening.
In its initial 4:55 p.m. notice, the department withheld the dead man’s name pending notification of his next of kin. Before the official identification, CBS 11 reported, citing sources close to the investigation, that the victim was Mo3. At 8:49 p.m., police identified him as Noble and said no one was in custody and the motive was unknown at that point.
Mo3’s music and message
Noble had collaborated with Boosie Badazz on “Errybody (Remix).” Earlier in 2020, he spoke with Flaunt about the message he wanted to give his listeners.
“The Black community and the Hispanic community, we deal with a lot of poverty and struggle,” Mo3 said. “I’m giving a message, I’m giving hope. Me, I’ve been a rapper, but you could do whatever you want. You ain’t limited to one thing. I preach that. Whether it’s my story or the next person’s story, they’re going to feel me.”
Boosie Badazz responds
As reports of Noble’s death spread, Boosie posted the following message on Twitter:
Stop calling me n texting me ‼️FUCK YOU HOES ,NIGGASn FAKE ASS FAMILY ALL YALL CAN SUCK MY DICK ‼️ALL YALL GOT A MOTIVE FUCKING WOTH ME ANYWAY 🤷🏽♂️ Suckadick