BloodHound Q50’s music career moved fast. In only a few years, the Chicago rapper went from experimenting with music to becoming one of the younger names gaining serious attention in the city’s drill scene. Q50 began rapping just a few years ago, without initially planning to make music a career, but the response to early songs including “Big 3” and “Coffin” convinced him to take the opportunity more seriously.
Born Mikquale T. Cooper, Q50 became known for an intense delivery and street-centered writing that placed him firmly within Chicago’s newer generation of drill artists. His rise accelerated in 2024. He released his first commercial single, “Splash Bros,” in July of that year and followed it with records including “Triple 3,” “Go,” and “BH4L.” BloodHound Q50 ultimately secured a deal with Signal Records under Columbia.
His music was also closely connected to fellow Chicago rapper Bloodhound Lil Jeff, who was killed in 2024. Q50 continued releasing music featuring posthumous appearances from Lil Jeff while collaborating with artists including Lil Scoom89 and Rell Vert. That connection became an important part of Q50’s catalog and public identity as his profile grew.
By 2025, BloodHound Q50 had moved beyond individual singles. He released the 14-song project “Long Live My Brudda He Prolly Kilt Yo Brudda” on April 2, 2025, through Signal Records under an exclusive license from Grade A Productions. The album included collaborations with Lil Tjay, Screwly G, VonOff1700, Big Opp, Hood Tali, and Lil Jeff.
His growing audience could also be seen outside streaming platforms. BloodHound Q50’s official YouTube release of “Make It Far” had surpassed 5.5 million views by September 2026. The song became one of the records most closely associated with his rise and helped establish the blunt, confrontational delivery that listeners recognized as his style.
Q50 entered the final months of his life still releasing music. “Get Back Or Die Trying” is a nine-song project released August 6, 2026. Additionally, “Head Taps” was released August 20, as his latest single before his death.
Less than a month later, the 22-year-old rapper was killed in Chicago.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cook County medical examiner’s office identified BloodHound Q50 as his real name, Mikquale T. Cooper, after the deadly September 13 shooting. A manager with AMF Music Group also confirmed to the newspaper that Cooper performed professionally as BloodHound Q50.
The Sun Times, citing a Chicago police report, said Cooper drove a white Tesla into a BP gas station at 4248 South Wentworth Avenue in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood at around 4 a.m. Investigators said a black Infiniti carrying two masked people parked next to his vehicle. A silver Honda Accord carrying four more people arrived moments later.
According to the same police report obtained by the Sun Times, Cooper and a 29-year-old woman who had been riding with him went inside the gas station. Investigators said one masked person from the Infiniti approached the Honda and removed objects before returning to the Infiniti. The woman later moved the Tesla to the front of the station before Cooper returned to the driver’s seat.
Police said two gunmen from the Infiniti and four from the Honda then approached the Tesla and opened fire. Cooper was struck in the chest and shoulder. Chicago Fire Department personnel treated him at the scene, and the medical examiner’s office recorded his death at 4:35 a.m. The gunmen fled south on Wentworth Avenue, according to the police report.
CWB Chicago reported that more than 50 shots were fired during the attack. The outlet also reported, citing a law enforcement source, that a firearm was recovered from Cooper. Authorities have not publicly said that discovery explains the shooting or established a motive for the killing.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Cooper died from multiple gunshot wounds and that his manner of death was officially ruled a homicide.
As of Monday afternoon, September 14, nobody was in custody, and Chicago police detectives were continuing the homicide investigation. The Sun Times reported that Area 1 detectives are handling the case. Police have not publicly identified any of the six suspected shooters or announced a motive, making online claims attempting to assign responsibility unverified.
BloodHound Q50 died just as his catalog and audience were expanding, leaving behind a short but rapidly developed run that captured the hard-edged sound of a newer chapter in Chicago drill.
