Matthew McAnuff, a popular reggae singer, has died after being attacked by a group of people and stabbed several times.
The 25-year-old McAnuff was allegedly in a dispute with another man in Montego Bay, police told The Associated Press . The dispute turned violent as a crowed turn on Matthew McAnuff, who later died at a hospital nearby.
Matthew McAnuff comes from a famous family. His father, Winston McAnuff, was himself a well-known reggae singer in Jamaica who later found crossover appeal in Europe, particularly France. McAnuff’s brother, Rashaun “Kush” McAnuff also performs in the Uprising Band. It was Kush who confirmed his brother’s death to media in Jamaica.
McAnuff himself was an up-and-coming artist within Jamaica and starting to peak overseas, the Jamaica Observer reported .
The killing took place in Paradise, St. James, on Wednesday at close to 6 a.m. After getting into a fight and injuring one man, a group of people attacked Matthew McAnuff and chopped him several times.
“From what I understand, it was about four or five of them who accused him of being a cop and started chopping him,” Matthew McAnuff’s brother Kush told media. “He ran and collapsed near the house he rented. By the time he was discovered, he had already bled to death.”
The killing has been very hard on the McAnuff family, Kush said.
“Right now my father is a mess. It has really hit him big time,” he said. Kush added that Matthew’s mother, who lives in the United States, had to be hospitalized after learning of her son’s murder.
At the time of his death, Matthew McAnuff was following his father’s footsteps and emerging as a reggae star in Europe. His single “Be Careful” has been making its way up the charts in France, and he was preparing to release another single, “If You Want War.”
