Sad news for urbano fans today: Puerto Rican rapper Kevin Fret died in Rio Piedras. According to reports from El Vocero, the 24-year-old artist was murdered early this morning. At 5:31 a.m., Fret was riding a motorcycle near the intersection of Eduardo Conde and Bellview in Santurce when he was shot eight times. The rapper was then transported to the Centro Médico in Río Piedras, where he was declared dead early this morning.
Fret’s manager, Eduardo Rodriguez, released a statement to press in Spanish on the afternoon of January 10. “Kevin was an artistic soul, a dreamer with a big heart. His passion was music, and he still had a lot left to do. This violence should stop. There are no words to describe our emotions and the pain that it causes us to know that a person with so many dreams has to go. We should all unite in these difficult times, and ask for lots of peace for our beloved Puerto Rico.”
In 2018, Fret made headlines after billing himself as the first openly gay Latin trap artist in Puerto Rico. Fret garnered a following for fearlessly embracing his sexuality within a movement that is often hostile to queer communities. In June, a bystander attacked Fret in Miami after a verbal dispute. Fret alleged the attacker targeted him because of his sexuality; he was later arrested on aggravated battery charges.
It is not clear if Fret’s murder was a hate crime or motivated by other causes, but El Vocero reports that detectives for Puerto Rican police are working on the case. According to new information from El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rican police are searching for a witness who left the scene of the crime after officers arrived.
Remezcla will update this story if more information becomes available.
Update, 1/10/2019 at 2:04 p.m.: This post has been updated to include a statement from Fret’s manager Eduardo Rodriguez.
Update, 1/11/2019 at 12:59 p.m.: This post has been updated to include new information about the Puerto Rican police’s search for a witness at the scene of the crime.