ST. LOUIS - A popular St. Louis rapper who was shot Sunday afternoon is being remembered for his talent.
"His verse on the song was just extraordinary," said St. Louis producer Jay E.
Walking through his decorated hall of accomplishments, the St. Louis producer knows a thing or two about talent. He produced a song called "Werking", and Nelly's smash hit "Country Grammar".
"He had the star qualities, he had everything that you need nowadays to become a successful artist," said Jay E.
Vincent Sanders, 35, went by the stage name Veeno Gunna.
"That's why we called him Gunna because he had that ta,ta,ta,ta,ta just chopping," said Erik Bothazy, Veeno's closest friend.
A gunman killed the rapper before he had his time to shine.
"My heart just dropped instantly and immediately my first thought was 'Let me call his mother,' and I think that was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do," Bothazy said.
The two were friends on and off the mic.
"Veeno would say here we go again cut the tech now I'm finna go and spin, I would start it he would finish, he would start I would finish," Bothazy said,
The day of the shooting, Bothazy says Veeno got a call from one of his nieces that she was being pestered by a man. Veeno went to help and things went from bad to worse.
"There was some confrontation with words some punches were exchanged and he got shot by the gentlemen I'm assuming he got into a confrontation with," said Bothazy.
The murder was reportedly caught on video and posted to Facebook. 5 On Your Side is not airing it, but people are sharing it.
"It hurt me deeply to see him fall and to see him scoot back and get up and hold his chest," Bothazy said.
He's asking for people to stop out of respect for the family. Bothazy says he will keep Veeno's memory alive by releasing some of their unreleased music.
This is still an active investigation. Police have not named a suspect and anyone with information is asked to call police.
A GoFundme campaign in Veeno's memory can be found here.