Cornelius Owens rapped with friend Deshaun Jones only days before the 15-year-old Jones was shot and killed while standing near a group of adults participating in a dice game on West Fayette Street in Baltimore. The two had spent a lot of time together, writing rap songs, recording together, and telling the story of their lives in Baltimore.
Had Owens not been working a day-labor job, hauling junk and abandoned mattresses out of an East Baltimore yard, he said, he would’ve been with Jones that fatal summer night.
“Probably would be a victim myself. Probably wouldn’t be standing here,” he said.