Israel Ramirez was gunned down outside of Brooklyn, NY’s Kiss the Cactus Productions studio during the shooting of the clip February 5. Reports say the shooting was sparked by a heated argument between Swizz Beatz, the track’s producer, and G-Unit’s Tony Yayo. Yayo is believed to have left the scene with the shooter. Busta and Yayo have refused to speak to authorities since the shooting.
Meanwhile, New York Police Commisioner Raymond Kelly is contemplating the possibility of putting Busta in front of a grand jury.
“He’s in L.A. now… and is afraid to come back to New York and get served with a subpoena,” a police source told New York’s Daily News.
Lauren Burns, a Busta spokeswoman wouldn’t confirm when the emcee left for L.A., but said the rest of the video was completed in one day.
“After the shooting took place, another day of filming had to be added which took place in Los Angeles recently,” Burns of Interscope Records told the News. “The filming is now finished and it is being edited. No air date has yet been set.”
Burns was unable to confirm whether Mary J. Blige, DMX or any of the stars that attended the initial filming were on location in Los Angeles.
Many at the star-studded video shoot are believed to have been feet away from Ramirez when he was killed. Reports say Busta was at his side when shots rang out. Yet, police has become frustrated with the lack of cooperating witnesses.
Word is a secret audio recording of an argument that lead to the shooting indicates that Bus witnessed the incident. The tape reportedly recorded the unknown gunman calling Busta a “bitch” prior to firing his weapon. The recording also confirms that Yayo was a key figure in the argument. The recording is being shopped to media outlets for $50,000, but has yet to be offered to the police.
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