Dead Rapper Was Propped Up on Stage for Final Party

Rapper Markelle Morrow, better known as "Goonew," joined friends and relatives for a party in a Washington, DC, nightclub Sunday—more than two weeks after his death. The 24-year-old was propped up on stage at the Bliss nightclub, wearing designer clothes and a crown, USA Today reports. Morrow was fatally shot on March 18 in District Heights, Maryland; no arrests have been made. Video of the nightclub event has gone viral, and while some critics are calling the celebration of Morrow's life disturbing and inappropriate, relatives say it's exactly how they wanted to honor him.

"We don’t care about anybody and what ya'll have to say negative. Nobody. We don’t care," sister Arianna Morrow tells Fox 5. "They’re like, I know his mama wouldn’t approve of that. Yeah, she did, she was on stage with us." Mother Patrice Morrow says she buried her son on Monday. "I'm pleased with how I sent my son away," she says. "I wish people would just let me grieve in peace." Morrow's relatives say they worked with the nightclub and the funeral home to arrange the event, though Bliss says it was "never made aware of what would transpire." The nightclub has apologized to anybody who was "upset or offended." (More rapper stories.)