Rondonumbanine was one Chicago’s hottest rappers in the early drill movement.
But unfortunately, his career was cut short
after he got hit with 39 years in prison
for the murder of a cab driver.
Let’s tap in to the come-up and criminal history of Rondonumbanine.
Rondonumbanine was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago.
He don’t have too many interviews available
so aint too much known about his childhood or upbringing.
But he from the 600 set of the Black Disciples
and was inspired by rappers like Lil Durk and Chief Keef to start making music.
He dropped his first mixtape, "I’m Up Next" in 2012
after only rapping for about a year.
But he was cool with all the other popular BD rappers from his hood
like LA Capone and Lil Durk.
So, he decided try it out and quickly became one of the most popular rappers from 600.
He dropped multiple singles that had the streets on fire
including "Hang with Me", "Taliban", and "Play for Keeps" with LA Capone.
His music videos also started racking up millions of views on YouTube.
Many thought Rondo was next up out of Chicago
and that he would continue the trend of BD rappers making it big.
But his criminal past put him on the radar of police
and made it hard for him to transition from the streets into music.
Rondo’s first arrest came after he posted a picture of himself to social media
holding an actual rocket launcher, with the caption
Coolin it With My new Baby.
The rocket launcher looked like an AT4 a Swedish RPG that was also used by the US military.
The one Rondo had had a blue stripe, meaning it was only for training and not live combat.
Rondo was already blowing up as a rapper
so the pictures immediately grabbed the attention of the police.
The cops were already monitoring
all of the up-and-coming gang-affiliated drill rappers in Chicago.
So when Rondo posted a pic with the RPG, they was all over it.
They posted a bulletin in the neighborhood, letting residents know
that there was a gang member on the streets with a Rocket Launcher.
It even had Rondo’s picture and his government name.
They also quickly started searching for Rondo to discover if the RPG was real
and find out how he got it.
Rondo deleted the photo from his Instagram and said it was all just a joke.
But another rapper named P Rico would later post a pic
with a similar rocket launcher to his own Instagram.
There’s no telling if it was the same one or if someone in Chicago had a plug on RPGs.
But it shows how wild the city really was during that time.
It’s not clear if Rondo actually faced any charges because of the RPG,
but it don’t look like he did jail time for it.
On September 26th, 2013,
Rondo’s best friend LA Capone got killed after leaving a recording studio
on Stoney Island Ave.
He was still alive when the ambulance arrived but later died from blood loss.
Three men from the 051 Young Money Gang one of 600s main opps
were later arrested for his murder.
LA Capone’s death was a major blow to 600.
He was building buzz, and many thought he was next to blow along with Rondo.
LA’s death really hit Rondo hard since they was so close
and LA was the one who encouraged him to start rapping.
So, he posted on social media to mourn the loss of his right-hand man.
But LA’s death wouldn’t stop his hustle and Rondo dropped his next mixtape
"Real N*** 4 Life 2", which featured guest appearances
from Fredo Santana,
Cdai, and even LA Capone.
Aside from all the talent that Rondo showed on this project,
it would unfortunately his last because he got locked up for murder not long after.
On February 21st, 2014,
Rondo and some other 600 member went to a party at the Wentworth Gardens Housing Projects,
an area that was known as GD territory.
Rondo was there with well-known Chiraq savages Cdai,
Tay600, Lil Boo, and D Rose, along with some females.
At one point, most of the guys left but Tay600 and the girls stayed.
There was an argument over the song that was playing, and someone fired a gun into the air.
No one was hit, but Tay 600 called Rondo and Cdai and told them what had happened.
So, they all linked up at a nearby Wendy’s
and decided to go look for whoever fired that shot at the party.
They drove back through the area near the party, passing a car
that was parked on the side of the road.
Inside the car was an innocent cab driver named Javan Boyd,
who got called to pick someone up from the party.
According to police, when they passed Boyd’s car,
they busted U-turn and pulled up right next to him.
Rondo and Cdai hopped out and asked Boyd if he was from the area.
After He told them he was, one of them pulled out a gun and shot him seven times.
Rondo and Cdai got back in the car and left the area, leaving Boyd to die from bleeding out.
After investigating, police ID’d Cdai and Rondo as the shooters and they both got arrested.
Rondo was held on a $2,000,000 bail.
They both sat in Cook County jail for over two years while they waited to go to trial.
Even though they said they were innocent and that it was all a big misunderstanding,
there was a lot of evidence that eventually found them guilty.
Not only was Cdai’s DNA on Boyd’s car,
but the whole thing was also caught on surveillance footage.
Plus, witnesses identified Rondo as the shooter
and Cdai even dropped his phone at the scene of the crime.
Two of the girls who were with them that night also testified against them
and took the stand in court to identify Rondo and Cdai as the killers.
There was even a rumor that Tay600 snitched on Cdai.
Tay was fighting a gun charge at that time and disappeared after Rondo and Cdai were convicted.
Plus, 600 members like 600 Breezy and Cdai's brother Edai
said they saw paperwork that proved Tay600 snitched.
But the paperwork they supposedly saw ended up being fake
and was used to try and discredit Tay600.
So the rumor wasn’t true and Tay600 proved his innocence years later
after court paperwork showed that he never cooperated.
But by this time, he was already labeled a snitch
and couldn’t rock with Team 600.
With a mountain of evidence against them,
Rondo and Cdai were found guilty of the murder of Javan Boyd.
On top of the murder charge, Rondo got hit with a firearm charge,
for having a gun on him on the night of the murder.
This was supposed to add multiple years to Rondo’s sentence,
but it only added one additional year and Rondo was sentenced to 39 years in prison,
while Cdai got sentenced to 38.
Both Rondo and Cdai still say they are innocent
and have tried to appeal the verdict multiple times.
Cdai's lawyers claim the prosecutors ain’t provide enough evidence
to prove a first-degree murder charge cuz the motive wasn’t good enough to prove
why he planned out the attack.
Rondo on the other hand blamed his legal team
and says they never questioned the possibility that Cdai acted alone.
This brought up snitching allegations against Rondo for admitting that Cdai was the killer.
But when you’re looking at the next few years behind bars,
street code starts mattering less and less to them.
Plus, he didn't actually accuse Cdai of anything,
he just blamed his lawyers for not exploring every option.
Both of these appeals got shot down cuz there was more than enough evidence
to prove they was both involved and took Boyd’s life with no mercy.
So, for now, Rondo and Cdai will probably serve their full sentences.
At this time, Rondo’s projected release date is in 2056,
but he is eligible for parole in 2053.
That means he will be 57 before he’s released.
Rondonumbanine’s story is pretty tragic. He had the potential to take over the rap game
with his level of talent and all the connections he had in both the streets
and the music industry.
But when an innocent person gets caught up in the crossfire of the gang lifestyle,
police go even harder for a conviction.
In this case, Cdai and Rondo made their job easy
and left a lot of evidence.
It’s a sad story, but that’s what comes with this life.
Either you make it out with your talent or you end up dead or in jail.
Hopefully, the story of Rondonumbanine
is a lesson to any young rappers with one foot in and one foot out of the streets.
Cause if you’re still livin the life you talk about in your music,
eventually it’s gonna catch up with you.