City officials will rename the corner of Ninth and Clearfield streets after the Philly rapper LGP Qua, who was killed during an attempted robbery in May.
The dedication ceremony, set for Saturday, will rechristen two blocks in North Philly’s Fairhill neighborhood. The section of Ninth Street between Clearfield Street and Indiana Avenue will become LGP Qua Way, while the 900 block of Clearfield Street will be dubbed Voice of the Youth, another one of the rapper’s monikers. Local musicians OG Law, Zay Money, Fisbanga, Dollar Boyz, Razor and Suzann Christine will perform as part of the event, which begins at 10 a.m.
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LGP Qua was born Qidere Johnson in North Philadelphia and went viral for his freestyles on city street corners before his death at the age of 30. Police said Johnson was shot in the chest on Mother’s Day by masked men who were attempting to steal the gold chains from his neck. Three suspects have since been arrested.
City Council unanimously passed a resolution to rename the blocks in Johnson’s honor back in September, citing his community advocacy. The rapper partnered with Puma and Foot Locker to donate roughly 1,000 pairs of shoes to Philadelphia students and $10,000 to his alma mater, the Edward Steel School. He also aimed to inspire kids to make positive choices through songs like “INSOMNIAC (woke),” featuring will.i.am.
Johnson’s mother and other family members pressed council members to do more to address gun violence in Philadelphia at a session held days after the rapper’s death.
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