CLEVELAND — The family of Cleveland rapper Qamar Williams, better known as Q Money, has released a statement Monday after he turned himself into Georgia authorities last week to face charges of murder.
Williams is charged in the murder of Calvin Alexander Chappell at a Decatur, Georgia residence on April 15. Investigators believe Williams shot the victim multiple times with a handgun.
"We feel Qamar was a victim in this situation as well due to his life being completely being altered behind this event," Williams' family writes in the statement. "Qamar is an energetic, enthusiastic young man and has no malice in his heart for anyone. As the facts and evidence continue to become available, we are sure that they will show that Qamar acted in self-defense from feeling as though his life was at risk and being threatened."
The rapper was profiled in 2018 by XXL's The Break where he was recognized for the release of the video for his standout track "Work" which had 6 million views on YouTube and "Neat" which had 1.5 million in less than two months.
The DeKalb shooting is not the first incident that allegedly involved the rapper in the last year. Months before his XXL interview, shots rang out as Q Money was filming a music video outside a bar on the east side of Cleveland. Seven people were shot.
You can read the entire statement from Williams' family below:
First, we would like to send out our deepest condolences to the Chappell Family at this unfortunate time of loss. We were very familiar with Calvin Alexander Chappell in his younger years with our son. He was a kind young man with a bright future as a singing recording artist.
Our son Qamar was focused on bringing positive energy through his music. He started his career from the ground up and does not promote violence or portray the use of guns in any of his visuals that he releases. His rapid rise to stardom fueled his ambitions to continue to work hard to get his career to the next level until he had reached the goals that he had set for himself. Qamar loves his son, his family and his craft. He has shown perseverance to eventually have become the next biggest artists ever.
At the recent tragic loss of Nipsey Hustle, all artist are finding themselves thinking about what would they do if placed in a predicament that they would have to protect their lives if it were being threatened due to being a celebrity.
We feel Qamar was a victim in this situation as well due to his life being completely being altered behind this event. Qamar is an energetic, enthusiastic young man and has no malice in his heart for anyone. As the facts and evidence continue to become available, we are sure that they will show that Qamar acted in self-defense from feeling as though his life was at risk and being threatened. We are deeply saddened by the way the information that has been released portrays the night in question. We are here 100% to support our Son Qamar.
On April 18th, 2019 Qamar turned himself into the Atlanta Dekaulb County Police for further review of this case.
We are praying for the Chappell family and we ask that you keep our family in your prayers as well. We look forward to a positive outcome for our son Qamar “QMoneyyyyy” Williams.
Thank You
From the Family of Qamar Akee Williams
