Swedish teen rapper shot dead in Stockholm

Award-winning Swedish rapper Einar, who topped the country's charts, was shot and killed in Stockholm, police said Friday as police hunted for suspects. The 19-year-old Einar, who raps in Swedish, was the most streamed artist on Spotify in Sweden in 2019. He was shot several times outside an apartment building shortly before 11 pm local time on Thursday. Ambulance personnel administered first aid but he died at the scene, Stockholm police spokeswoman Towe Hagg said. 

In line with usual practice, police have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim. But Sweden's mainstream media identified him as Einar, whose full name is Nils Kurt Erik Einar Gronberg. Many of Einar's songs reference a life of crime, including drugs and weapons. He had public feuds with rival artist Yasin, who in July was jailed for 10 months for his role in a planned kidnapping of Einar in 2020. The plan was ultimately aborted, but Einar was abducted several weeks later without Yasin's involvement. He was beaten, robbed, photographed in humiliating conditions and blackmailed, according to prosecutors.

Among the suspects was another rapper, Haval Khalil, who was sentenced in July to two-and-a-half years in prison for complicity in the kidnapping and who has also had public spats with Einar. The son of Swedish actress Lena Nilsson, Einar grew up in southern Stockholm and often referred to the criminal scene in the area in his work. He started his career posting songs to social media, and broke through in 2019 releasing "Katten i trakten" (The cat in the area), which hit number one on Sweden's singles chart.He won several music awards, including Swedish Grammys