Halifax rapper who made plea for end to violence charged with murder

HALIFAX — A rapper who made a heartfelt plea for an end to violence after a series of killings in Halifax earlier this year has been charged with murder in a weekend killing.

Carvel Clayton, 21, was arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Shakur Jefferies, who was found dead near a suburban Halifax apartment building around 5 p.m. Saturday.

Clayton recently penned a song following the shooting deaths of several young black men that galvanized the city and prompted anti-violence marches.

Quentrel Provo, founder of Stop the Violence, said Clayton was a talented young musician who was so moved by the string of shootings last spring that he wrote the rap, “Murder (Pray 4 Scotia).”

Clayton’s song bemoans the killing of the men in one week, and urges people to refrain from violence with the lyrics, “We say the cops trying to take us out, but we the ones killing.”

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“He’s one of the best local artists, so this is difficult to talk about,” Provo said, who is also a distant cousin to Jefferies. “It’s disturbing because you lose two young men — one to the system and one to the casket.”

Clayton, who also goes by the name Certi, was one of 11 young hip-hop artists selected to go to Atlanta last year for the AC3 music festival.

Police are continuing to investigate, but say Clayton was known to them.

Five men were taken in for questioning in the Jefferies murder on the weekend, but three were released without charges. Another 21-year-old man had his parole revoked in relation to the incident and will return to police custody.

The Canadian Press