‘You can’t have nothing’: Man shot, killed in Kansas City was local rapper who loved family
When Brianna got the call from a friend Sunday night that her boyfriend of seven years had died in a shooting in Kansas City, she immediately started searching for answers.
The Star is not using her full name for her safety.
Officers found Oshaee Leneer Spinks, 26, around 7 p.m. suffering from gunshot wounds in the street in the 3500 block of East 61st Street after multiple people called 911, according to the Kansas City Police Department. Spinks was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police believe multiple people were in the area at the time of the shooting, but left before police arrived. As of Wednesday, police said they have no further information to release to the public on the investigation.
Brianna told police she recognized the area where he died from a Facetime call she’d had with Spinks the night before the shooting. She told police who he was supposed to be meeting, looked for more information on social media and pushed them to find footage on street and doorbell cameras.
When the police tape came down, Brianna scoped out the area herself and tried talking with someone outside to learn if he’d seen anything or knew her boyfriend.
On Sunday night, Spinks told her he was going to a bar to watch the Chiefs game. After he left the bar, Spinks allegedly went to the area where he was killed for a drug deal. He sold weed and other substances as a side hustle, Brianna said.
The people Spinks was reportedly selling to had also paid for sessions at his studio over the last month or two, Brianna said. Friends told Brianna that Spinks asked several of them to come with him, indicating he wasn’t comfortable going alone. Still, he went through with the plan.
When she arrived at the scene, Brianna said she noticed Spinks’ car and all of his belongings were missing. Police later told her they found the vehicle and would take it in as evidence.
Brianna believes people in the area must have witnessed the shooting, or must know something. She’s confident that police will take a suspect into custody eventually, but coming forward, she said, will help her and her loved ones find peace sooner.
“Somebody knows something,” she said. “But a lot of people portray that they don’t.”
‘Slow feet don’t eat’
Around 10 years ago, Spinks moved from his hometown of Benton Harbor, Michigan, to Kansas City, where he hoped for a fresh start after spending time in juvenile detention as a kid, Brianna said. After moving, he graduated high school.
A few years later, Brianna met Spinks at a bus stop. They started talking and he asked for her number. The couple took an Uber to the movies for their first date, since neither of them had a car. They loved hiking, eating together and, when they did have a car, driving to St. Louis for vacations.
Eventually they moved in together, and lived with each other on and off for about three years.
Spinks had no children of his own, but would do anything for the children in Brianna’s family, she said. When Brianna was at work, he would watch her now 3-year-old niece, who Brianna fostered for about two years. About two weeks ago, he became a godfather when his best friend welcomed a baby into the world.
The day he was killed, Spinks was supposed to take Brianna’s niece to the movies, but they canceled their plans because she was sick.
Family was always Spinks’ first priority, Brianna said. He split his time between visiting his biological family in Michigan and his found-family in Kansas City. He spent every holiday with Brianna and her family.
Once he had his own place last year, he brought together all his loved ones in Kansas City for a Christmas party. He and Brianna took road trips to visit his parents in Benton Harbor and hers in Oklahoma throughout their relationship.
Their romantic relationship was on and off over the last seven years because they were “like cat and dog,” Brianna said, but she never went long without talking to Brianna. He was her first and only boyfriend.
Spinks often said “slow feet don’t eat,” which Brianna said meant you need to keep working to make your dreams come true. He started his rap career under the name Breezy and spent almost every day in his own studio, making music.
Around the metro area, Spinks paid for open slots to perform at bars and clubs. He also performed as an opener when other hip hop artists came to the area. After gaining a name around the area, Brianna said he made enough money to buy a BMW and an Infiniti and the brand name clothes he always wanted, like Nike sneakers and vintage Supreme.
When they last talked Saturday night and Sunday morning, Brianna reminded him to be careful because not everyone would be happy that he could afford nice things.
“A lot of people watch that, and they look at the nice jewelry and clothes and shoes and him being able to do for himself, and a lot of people don’t like that,” Brianna said. “They want to take that from you. You can’t have nothing.”
Spinks’ body was sent back to Michigan for burial. Brianna will travel there to spend time with Spinks’ parents and attend the service.
The killing was the 157th homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There were 147 killings at this time last year, the city’s second deadliest year on record.
Police ask anyone with information to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.
