Credit: Sha EK

New York drill rapper Sha EK has been arrested and charged with attempted murder. The 21-year-old (real name Chalim Perry) was allegedly involved in a shooting in Mott Haven seven months ago that resulted in three people being hospitalised.

Police concluded that Perry was responsible for the crime through several witness accounts, security footage and ballistics. Court documents from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office show Perry is facing 23 charges, including three counts of attempted murder.

According to News 12, Perry has pled not guilty to all charges and was due in court on February 7th. A resident of the Patterson Houses, where the shooting took place, claimed that the gang Perry is allegedly connected to isn’t welcome in that neighbourhood.

Perry signed a deal with Warner Records in 2022 and released his major label debut mixtape, Face of the What, that September. The Melrose, Bronx native boasts over 276,845 monthly listeners on Spotify, with his biggest single racking up over 15 million streams. He also has more than 343,000 subscribers on YouTube.

In 2022, Perry was set to perform at Rolling Loud New York but was allegedly cut from the lineup upon the New York Police Department’s request. The decision was made less than 24 hours before the festival took place in Queens.

His manager, Stanley ‘Noodles’ Davis, stated that he hadn’t been charged with any crime that could justify his ban. “The police try to associate what he’s doing with violence and negativity,” he said. “They don’t respect that he’s an artist and entertainer trying to better himself and feed his family at 19 years old.”

He added, “Sha Ek has performed all over the Northeast this year. The crowds at his concerts are full of kids dancing and having fun. He’s excited to keep growing his touring business and proving the police wrong.”

During an interview with High Off Life, Perry opened up about where the spark in his music comes from. “I know I have to work hard and get to a point where people have to come and apologise for treating me a certain way,” he said. “I know that my family depends on me to have it when they don’t, so I just keep my head down and go to work on these beats.”

He added, “[Growing up in the Bronx] hugely affected my life. Losing close friends or seeing them end up in jail, all of that motivates me to keep going and make it big for them.”