Hip-hop star’s death continues to mystify

MONTERAL – Family, friends and hip-hop music fans in Montreal continue to be mystified by the bizarre death of Paul Frappier, a successful singer who went by the stage name Bad News Brown.

"It is very disturbing and surprising, we don’t know why this happened," said Ronald Mungal, coordinator of the Burgundy Urban Mediation Project, an organization that mentors young people in Little Burgundy. "We all knew him in our own way and we want to find some way to remember him."

Frappier, 33, who went to Wagar High School, was with his girlfriend until about 10 p.m. Friday, when he told her he was going out to meet someone.

A couple who had been walking in an industrial area near the Lachine Canal found him lying on the ground at the intersection of Richmond and William Sts. about midnight.

Montreal police said Frappier had sustained injuries to his head. As of Monday, no arrests had been made in the case. Police have refused to reveal the exact cause of his death, but they told Frappier’s girlfriend that he had been shot.

Last year, Frappier was cast in the role of a hit man in Michel Jette’s soon-to-be released film Bumrush, which examines the rise of a Montreal street gang.

Jette said Monday that Frappier played a major role in casting and helped secure minor parts for about 25 people he knew from the music scene in Montreal. Jette said there is no indication that Frappier was involved with street gangs and he doesn’t believe that his role in the movie played a role in his death. The film will be released in April.

Montreal police spokesperson Simon Delorme said investigators will examine all aspects of Frappier’s world, including his professional life, to try to find a motive for the killing.

Frappier’s manager, Henry Gelot, said his death is a great loss for Quebec’s music community. "In addition to being one of the first rappers from Quebec to reach international acclaim, Bad News Brown has certainly left a mark on everyone who knew him," he said.

Gelot said his friend was a harmonica player first and he should not be typecast as a violent rapper just because he played the role of a street gang member in a film.

Kevin George, a community organizer in St. Henri and Little Burgundy, said Frappier was a "big brother for a lot of kids" in the southwest Montreal neighbourhood and was a good father to his son, who is almost 3. "We need committed fathers in our society … and he was definitely committed to his son," George said.

Frappier started his career as a street busker in Montreal. He made a name for himself playing the harmonica over hip-hop beats and opened for artists like Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and 50 Cent.

Frappier had agreed to mentor local youths in Little Burgundy who are hoping to make a CD as part of a project at Youth in Motion, an organization serving adolescents in Little Burgundy.

"It’s very hard for the kids and for their parents," said Michael Farkis, the director of Youth in Motion. "He was only 33, so a lot of parents knew him as well." Farkis said the youths hope to make their CD and dedicate it to Frappier. "He understood the community very well," he said.