Earl Hatton popularly known as Earl Swavey, who got the spot light on him for his collaborations with A$AP Yams and Grimesโ€™ brother Jay Worthy, was  on the wheels with multiple passengers when he was shot by someone outside a party in downtown Los Angeles and subsequently crashed into a parked motorhome, a final autopsy report obtained Monday by Rolling Stone says.

The report states Swavey, died from a gunshot wound to his back on Jan. 9, 2022. The copper bullet was found lodged in his heart. Blunt head trauma from the vehicle collision was listed as a contributing factor in the 26-year-oldโ€™s death.

Witnesses purportedly said at least one passenger inside Hattonโ€™s vehicle discharged a firearm before โ€œpatrons at the party fired back,โ€ an LAPD detective told the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, according to the report. Itโ€™s believed the shooting was โ€œgang-related,โ€ the report said without elaborating.

Hatton’s early life was overseen by a single mother in South L.A. following his father’s demise when he was about 2 years old, he disclosed to the No Jumper podcast in 2018. Hatton recalled making acquaintance with the influential rapper Steven โ€œA$AP Yamsโ€ Rodriguez in his teens. The A$AP Mob co-founder heard Hattonโ€™s track โ€œBeefโ€ from a 2013 mixtape titled Business Before Pleasure and reached out to work with him, he said. The two appeared together on the 2014 song โ€œUza Trikkโ€ produced by LNDN DRGS, the musical duo comprised of Worthy and producer Sean House. Rodriguez would die from an accidental drug overdose just months later in January 2015.

In a 2015 interview with Grungecake, Hatton said Rodriguezโ€™s death got him hard. โ€œIt hurts a lot because I recently talked to him two days before he passed. Out of all of the members of A$AP, Yams was really like a brother to me. He would send me Christmas gifts and always look out for my mom, and ask if she needed anything. I could call him anytime and he would always answer, no matter what. I definitely gained some wisdom from him,โ€ he said.

Acclaimed rapper Vince Staples paid tribute to Hatton in a Twitter post shortly after his death. โ€œRest In Peace to the great Earl Swavey,โ€ Staples tweeted on Jan. 10.

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