Local artist 2G.Kaash was arrested Friday in Grand Prairie in connection with the January slaying of a 33-year-old man, authorities said.

The rapper, whose legal name is Ghazi Harris, was arrested at a hip-hop concert at the Texas Trust CU Theater in the 1000 block of Texas Trust Way in Grand Prairie, authorities said. It was unclear if he had a lawyer.

Harris, 20, faces a murder charge in connection with the killing of Khurram Ali, who was found with a gunshot wound in a vehicle on Jan. 19 around 10:40 p.m. in the 6000 block of North Central Expressway in Dallas, according to an arrest affidavit. Ali was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Harris is an Irving rapper who had recently signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and Sniper Gang Records, the label of acclaimed rapper Kodak Black, according to the Dallas Observer. Harris had several hit singles, including “Nobody Love,” “Never Lost” and “Walk Down,” the Observer reported.

Black, who has sold more than 30 million singles, was performing Friday at the Grand Prairie venue where Harris was arrested by U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, authorities said.

Shamar Willis, Harris’ business manager, said authorities should be looking more closely at the people around Harris rather than the artist himself. Harris is not an aggressor or a threat to society who has put himself in a situation that could jeopardize his career, Willis added.

“It’s like a witch hunt,” Willis said, noting officials focused on Harris because he has the “biggest” name. Police appear to have little evidence pointing to Harris as the one who pulled the trigger, he said.

Texas law allows accomplices to face the same charges as a person who causes a death. Dallas police spokesman Brian Martinez said Tuesday that no other people are in custody in the case.

“This is a kid who just needs to change his circle, but his circle doesn’t dictate his actions,” Willis said. “I believe that he is innocent. I think that he’s somebody who in this situation will learn a good lesson about the company that he’s keeping and, you know, he’ll be able to move forward with his career.”

January murder

A security guard who was near the shooting that killed Ali told Dallas police that he noticed two cars — one with Ali and the other with the suspect — parked next to each other when Ali’s vehicle took off and hit another unoccupied vehicle , the declaration states. The guard said a trash bag fell out of Ali’s vehicle, and then a person got out and ran to the suspect’s vehicle, according to the affidavit.

The security guard said he heard a gunshot and saw two other people run from Ali’s vehicle to the suspect’s vehicle, which then drove off, the affidavit said. Another security guard told police he saw three people run to the suspect’s vehicle, according to the affidavit. A detective obtained surveillance footage of the shooting, the affidavit said.

Authorities searched Ali’s vehicle and found two cell phones, both of which belonged to Ali, the affidavit said. Police found text messages to Ali from someone whose Cash App name was $Kaash2G, according to the affidavit. Police said they opened the Cash app on one of the phones and saw the same $Kaash2G account and a $60 payment for an Uber ride in December. The account’s profile picture was a picture of Harris, police wrote in the affidavit.

The text thread included messages about the time and place of the meeting, as well as pictures of “what appears to be illegal narcotics,” the affidavit said. The last text message from the same number to Ali was at 10:53 p.m. and read, “Have you gone and tried to run me over?”, according to the affidavit.

The police obtained the sender’s mobile phone records, and confirmed that the phone was in the same place as Ali when he was killed, the affidavit states. Ali’s friend told investigators he met Harris to buy marijuana, according to the affidavit.

Handprints taken from Ali’s vehicle were searched in a national database and matched Harris’ palm print, the affidavit said.

Harris remained in the Dallas County Jail Tuesday. He was denied bond on the murder charge, according to court records.

Previous murder charge

Harris has previously been charged with murder. He was arrested in February 2021 in connection with the fatal shooting of Keenon Culver, 35, in Irving. A grand jury later declined to indict him, according to court records.

Willis, Harris’ business manager, said the shooting was in self-defense. Harris broke up a fight involving Culver when the man began to approach Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in 2021. Harris shot Culver out of fear, and surrendered to authorities after learning Culver had died, Willis said.

Willis said he looks forward to Harris being proven innocent of his latest charge. Harris needs better leadership and guidance, Willis admitted. But if people paid close enough attention to the stories in Harris’ music, they would learn about the trauma and hardships he faced growing up.

“I’m excited for him to learn a new lesson in life,” he said. “He definitely has to look at those people who are a little bit jealous of the situation that he’s in to put him in these situations where something so simple can turn out to be what it is – just by being around the wrong people.”