PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth resident Darryl Ferguson, 39, known on the stage as “X the Real,” was shot and killed Nov. 26, just as families were were preparing for Thanksgiving.
Portsmouth police investigate fatal shooting on Jefferson Street
As police search for the killer, loved ones say “X the Real” kept it real when he rapped about life in Portsmouth. Some of Ferguson’s music videos included segments from fellow rapper TMG Lono, including a video that was shot in Lono’s home.
In an interview at the home, attended by Lono, Ferguson’s brother, a nephew and two friends, Lono offered emotional reflections of a man he described as a talent of the ages.
“He’s just always been different,” Lono said. “Like, bro was exceptionally talented, and it was well-known amongst all his peers, you know what I’m saying? … He led the way. He was the one. He stood on real. He stood on his name. That’s why he called himself ‘X the Real,’ because he stood on what’s right. And there’s a lot of things going on in the city. If you listen to the music and what he was talking about, he’s speaking against the foolishness. Me and him were trying to come together and create something that we could provide for our little brothers that are coming behind us. And to suffer the same tragedy that you stood against, the same thing you fought. … you use your voice to try to make a way not only to speak out against it, but provide a way for us to have alternatives. He had a way of painting pictures so vivid, the smallest little details, he had a way of putting you right there…