The Weeknd Manager Cash XO’s Home Targeted During Shooting

Last week, a security guard was shot outside the home of The Weeknd’s co-manager, Amir “Cash XO” Esmailian in Encino, California. The shooting has raised more eyebrows in hindsight as fans wonder if it is connected to the public feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake. So far, no motive has been established.

The shooting took place at 2:25 a.m. local time on Monday, April 29. According to a report by Billboard, the unnamed security guard was on watch in a guard shack outside the building when he heard several gunshots, then realized he had been hit. He saw three suspects flee the scene, all men wearing hoods and masks. The Los Angeles Fire Department was the first to respond, and they transported the victim to a local hospital. His condition was described as serious but not fatal, and he was expected to make a full recovery.

Police confirmed that Esmailian was inside the home at the time of the incident, but couldn’t say for sure whether the suspects ever entered the building. Other sources said that they believe this was an attempted home invasion, noting that Esmailian’s house is currently on sale for $12 million.

Fans commenting on social media were more fixated on Esmailian’s connection with the beef consuming the hip-hop world over the last few weeks. Esmailian is one of The Weeknd’s managers and a co-founder of his XO Records. Drake took shots at The Weeknd and Esmailian in his diss track “Push Ups,” released on April 19.

First, Drake referenced Esmailian in his lyrics, saying that he was previously a “lil’ blunt runner” for a member of Drake’s entourage. He then mocked both The Weeknd and Esmailian for leaving Toronto, rapping: “Claim the six, and you boys ain’t even come from it.” He also compared the relationship between The Weeknd and Esmailian to that of a pimp and a sex worker, rapping: “Cash blowing Abel bread, out here tricking / S- we do for b-es, he doing for n-s.”

Still, the shooting at Esmailian’s home got more coverage in hindsight after the beef escalated the following weekend with two more diss tracks from Drake and three more from Lamar. Fans also began to look more closely when a similar shooting took place outside of Drake’s home in Toronto in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Again, a security guard was hospitalized in “serious but not life-threatening” condition, while the rapper himself went unscathed. Investigations of both shootings are underway, and in the meantime, fans are only speculating.