On February 15th, beloved lyricist CyHi The Prynce nearly lost his life in a failed shooting that ultimately left his car flipped and totaled in Atlanta.
Following the disturbing incident, CyHi gathered his thoughts in an emotional Instagram reflection. “A couple nights ago there was an attempt on my life,” he captioned. “Somebody tried to gun me down on the highway. tried everything I could do to lose them, but they were adamant about taking me off this earth. They were shooting at me while I was driving and even after my car flipped, hit a pole and crashed into a tree, they came back and shot the car up some more.”
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A little over a month since the shooting transpired, CyHi The Prynce took a moment to speak with HipHopDX, where he shared a theory about what might have drove his attackers to act. “To me, I feel like it could have been a mistaken identity because I do have a vehicle that a lot of other stars and MCs have that are here,” he reflects. “But also when I’m out of town and I’m doing my Wyoming thing, Sunday Service and writing for other artists, I do have loved ones and friends who might be indulging in things that may not necessarily connect to me or I may necessarily not know about. Because I’m not in the loop like I was when I was a lot younger.”
“It could be that,” he muses. “Or like I said, a random mistaken identity. I really haven’t gotten to the bottom of it. I’m just staying out of the way until I get more information on it.” He explains that the gravity of what might have been took a while to sink in, emphasizing the finality of death. “It dawned on me people would never hear my music again,” he reflects. “People would never hear from me again. It’s almost like labels would be calling my mom and stuff like, ‘Yo, can we do a posthumous album on your son?’ That would be terrible.”
He proceeds to reiterate his theory on mistaken identity, explaining that he’d like to clear the air should his attackers be watching. “I do think that the guys who did this to me didn’t know who I was,” says CyHI. “It’s kind of like for me to be able to clear the air if they are watching these interviews or if they do hear about it. It’s like, ‘Oh, that ain’t the guy we were looking for.’ I can get more information versus if I just keep it to myself. It’s like I don’t know what’s going on, I’m looking over my shoulder.” He also maintains that he’s no longer affiliated with any activity from his past, and while he may have undergone a traumatic experience, he doesn’t feel comfortable seeking resolution in therapy.
For more from CyHi, be sure to check out the full conversation with HipHopDX below.