Rapper Johnny May Cash Killed, Girlfriend Charged With Murder

Hip-hop artist Johnny May Cash was shot and killed in Chicago several days ago, and investigators have charged his girlfriend, Brianna Gibbs, with the crime. Tyrone Pittman, known as Johnny May Cash, died on April 17, according to police records obtained by XXL. Around 2:20 a.m., police responded to a Shotspotter alert near 8400 South Aberdeen Street and spotted four 9-mm shell casings. No one was on the scene, including the rapper and his girlfriend. Cash was later discovered to have been driven by a friend to Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Chicago, where he had been shot in the thigh. He later died from the injury. 

Police said Gibbs was assaulted by Cash after being driven to a family member's home following the shooting. She was transported to the hospital and filed a domestic violence report. Upon learning she was a suspect in Pittman's killing, officers arrested her and charged her with first-degree murder. Gibbs reportedly told detectives that a fight outside the couple's home sparked the incident. The rapper allegedly struck her multiple times in the face and body before dragging her inside the house. Gibbs claimed the rapper dropped his gun during the skirmish, and she picked it up when he returned to his porch. 

Assistant state's attorney James Murphy stated that Gibbs then asked Johnny May Cash for her cell phone and threatened to shoot him if he "came out at her aggressively." When Johnny May Cash emerged from the house, Gibbs shot him multiple times before grabbing her cell phone and fleeing. 

According to reports, Gibbs and the rapper have been involved in domestic violence issues before. Murphy said a YouTube video shows Johnny May Cash throwing Gibbs against a wall. According to Murphy, in 2015 and 2017, the rapper also faced two domestic violence charges later dropped. 

Gibbs' public defender characterized the incident on April 19 as "clearly self-defense" and presented the woman's numerous injuries at the hospital, including multiple stitches. Gibbs' bail was set at $100,000 by Judge Susana Ortiz, with her next court appearance set for May 9. 

In the mid-2010s, Cash first became involved in Chicago's rap music scene. His first mixtape was Paranoid, which was released in September 2013. After the mixtape's release, Cash's brother Young Chop signed him to Chop Squad, and the DJ produced most of Cash's mixtapes and albums. He also collaborated with artists like Lil Durk and French Montana. Cash's last effort, Related, was released in December 2021.