Rapper Waka Flocka Flame shot, robbed

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gun play becomes Atlanta area rapper Waka Flocka Flame.

His most recent mix tape is called "Salute Me or Shoot Me, Vol. 2," and the "L" in his logo is shaped by an upright semi-automatic handgun.

And Tuesday evening, the 23-year-old rapper was recovering after being shot earlier in the day during an apparent robbery.

Born Juaqin Malphurs, the rapper was washing his car at the Bubble Bath Car Wash at 5220 Old National Highway around 1:30 p.m. when he was approached by an armed man demanding Malphurs' jewelry, police said.

"A scuffle broke out, then shots were fired," Fulton County police spokesman Sgt. Scott McBride said.

Malphurs was shot in the arm, and taken to a nearby hospital.

The suspect fled the scene, going south along Old National Highway, McBride said.

Malphurs is linked to hip hop star Gucci Mane's So Icy Entertainment, according to allhiphop.com.

On his MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/wakaflocka1017, Malphurs said he was taken under Gucci Mane's wing and redirected his life focus.

"Swear to God I liked drug dealers and basketball players when I was growing up," Malphurs said on his site. "You gotta make people believe in what you went through."

Gucci Mane reportedly gave Malphurs his hip hop name, Waka Flocka, alluding to the sound of cocking a semi-automatic pistol.

V-103 DJ Greg Steet spoke with Malphurs late Tuesday evening.

"He's doing well," Street said. "He's going to pull through."

Will Tuesday's shooting likely gives his fans more to believe in?

That remains to be seen.

But for now, police are looking for a black man, about 22 years old, with a tattoo of a dollar sign on his left cheek, and tattoos between eyebrows of two circles, three squares and two more circles, wearing a white tank-top, blue jeans and red underwear.

The investigation is ongoing.