A send-off for a slain Maryland rapper is going viral because of the way the man’s body was apparently displayed.
Markelle Morrow, who rapped under the name “Goonew,” died last month after he was found shot in a District Heights parking lot. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died, according to WUSA TV.
Police are still looking for suspects and a motive, but Morrow’s family told NBC Washington they believed he was shot in a robbery.
On Sunday, the rapper’s friends and family gathered at Bliss, a Washington, D.C., nightclub to honor his memory at $40 a pop, according to Hot97.com.
Video from the event shows Morrow’s presumably embalmed body propped up onstage and wearing designer clothes and a crown.
The overall effect looked like someone was doing a reboot of “Weekend At Bernie’s,” a 1989 cult comedy about two guys who pretend a dead mobster is alive for a weekend.
Other people also posted photos to social media.
DMV RAPPER GOONEW THAT WAS KILLED IN FORESTVILLE MD, FAMILY AND FRIENDS GAVE HIM A GOING-AWAY PARTY AT BLISS NIGHT CLUB.
pic.twitter.com/5oTMl7i2Km— Killmoenetwork inc. (@Killmoenetwork) April 4, 2022
Many people were shocked by the video.
It’s no way y’all supporting Goonew standing up in a club for a funeral . Ultimate disrespect let that man Rest In Peace the correct way!🤬— tali’jahni’ay🤍 (@Melanin_vxbes) April 4, 2022
if y’all saw that video with Goonew’s body y’all can’t tell me this society ain’t already collapsed…
— p (@doompeyton) April 4, 2022
Like I gotta respect everything. Is a funeral in a club unorthodox, yes. But too each their own. Goonew was a rapper. A casket just would’ve been respectful.
— whatevrrr. (@honeybutta__) April 4, 2022
The reaction was strong enough that the nightclub posted an apology on social media on Monday, saying it was contacted by a local funeral home for a celebration of the rapper’s life, but had no idea of “what would transpire.”
