Bay Area "Hyphy Music" Pioneer Shot Multiple Times in Richmond, CA

Another rap artist from California's famed Bay Area found himself on the opposite side of an assailant's gun after a dangerous incident where local police have a limited amount of details.

Charles "Keak Da Sneak" Williams-Bowens (pictured) was hit with multiple bullets on Monday morning (August 21) in front of a gas station in Richmond, California. After a 911 call, officers from the Richmond Police Department arrived at the scene and found Williams-Bowens, 39, bleeding from gunshot wounds he sustained to the face and chest.

The nationally known "Tell Me When to Go" collaborator was then rushed to a nearby hospital and was subsequently listed to be in stable condition after rumors of the legendary rapper's death began to immediately surface on the internet in the first hours after the shooting. Williams-Bowens' condition improved after emergency surgery was performed.

So far, police have not stated whether this was a drive-by shooting or one that occurred after a verbal or physical altercation. Law enforcement officials have also not confirmed if the attempt on Williams-Bowens' life was indeed a gang-related gun crime. The night before the shooting, Williams-Bowens performed at the Complex in downtown Oakland.

Williams-Bowens was wounded in another incident of gun violence earlier this year, although that shooting was not fatal either. Details of the January 21, 2017 crime are very sketchy to this day. All Bay Music Magazine is the first source that broke this story, according to HipHopEarly.com.

"We wanna send our deepest prayers & wish a speedy recovery to our good friend #keakdasneak. We are sad to hear that shortly after keak and @donpofficial C.O.O. of #allbaymusicmagazine took this pic he was shot!! Fortunately he is doing okay and will be back like yadada!! Stop trying to kill all the dope rappers," the magazine posted on its Twitter page.

The exclamatory term "yadada" is a popular slang word, which was originated by Bay Area rap artists.

The injuries Williams-Bowens sustained in the January 21 shooting were not severe enough for him to stop performing what he loves and does for a living. He had a performance the evening of the same day he was shot at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. He then posted footage of himself on social media walking with a cane on stage during his performance.

“You’ll never understand how valuable life is until it flash before ya eyes. God’s plan can never be determined by man,” Williams-Bowens wrote in an Instagram caption over the posting of his video. There were not any reports about suspects being arrested after the attempt on Williams-Bowens' life, which occurred earlier this year.

A number of other rappers who were previously considered to be peers of Williams-Bowens have not been as fortunate after being victims of gun violence. Though he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, slain rap legend Tupac Shakur gained notable ground in the music business after moving to Marin County, California in the late 1980s.

It was there where he met Digital Underground front man Shock G (aka Humpty Hump). Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada in September of 1996 after leaving a Mike Tyson fight with his executive producer Marion "Suge" Knight. In November of 2004, another Bay Area rap legend lost his life to gun fire while traveling on a highway in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks was gunned down under mysterious circumstances while traveling in a white van on U.S. Highway 71. Hicks was a frequent collaborator with a handful of Kansas City-based rap artists who are popular on the national underground hip-hop scene. Hicks was only 34-years-old when he was killed.

In February 2015, Dominick "The Jacka" Newton (another well-known Bay Area rap artist) was fatally struck by an assailant's bullet in what law enforcement officials called an "execution style" murder. Newton's killing occurred in Oakland. He also went by the name Shaheed Akbar and was a converted Muslim. Newton was just 37-years-old when he died.