On July 13, 2024, lives were changed in Oakland, California, after what was supposed to be a moment of support for a Black-owned business turned into a deadly shooting. Alliauna Green, also known as Tan DaGod, 27, was shot and killed at Glamour Beauty Supply in broad daylight after doing a meet-and-greet with fans.
In a viral video, moments before the shooting began, the rapper was approached by a group of men, and soon after you can hear the gunshots erupting. Tan and another person were shot, but the femcee was declared dead at the hospital. From that moment on, fans and loved ones rallied on social media and in real life to keep her name alive. Recently, Oakland police announced the arrest of Dominic Gates, 30, who is facing a murder charge from the Alameda County District Attorney.
Still, conspiracies and misconceptions continued to spread online. To fans and supporters, Tan DaGod was a braggadocious storyteller who was gaining traction in her music, but to her loved ones, she was simply Alliauna, a friend and community changemaker. “The internet is such an interesting place, and sometimes the things you have to know, you need to go to the net to essentially put a puzzle together,” her niece Colbie Edwards tells GU.
In 2023, Green released a project, Ex Wood Pack, that went viral, but after her death, bloggers, including DJ Akademiks, began spreading a narrative that conspires that Green’s death coincided with her project about an ex-boyfriend’s death—and it didn’t just stop at blogs. When Green’s friends and family went online, they saw many conspiracy videos, comments, and commentary about the rapstress. “All the things I’m seeing on the blogs are so disrespectful,” her sister Nailah Lamees told GU.
When we get on our Zoom call, though she’s prepared to clear up the various misconceptions, she’s still grieving the loss of her aunt in real-time. “It’s been a lot seeing all the love but also all the negativity, backlash, trolling, and jokes,” she says. When we get on our Zoom call, though she’s prepared to clear up the various misconceptions, she’s still grieving the loss of her aunt in real-time. “That’s hindering because people don’t know you or the person you’re mourning.”
While promoting her mixtape in 2023, Green went on platforms such as Kid L Podcast and DBG Media’s Off the Porch, alluding to her project’s deeper meaning. She even included a fake tombstone that said, “Here lies my ex.” As an artist, Tan DaGod always wanted to keep her fans guessing through her storytelling, but fans have begun to take things too far after trying to connect her mixtape to her death.
“It was street politics that she got caught up in, and wasn’t the intended target, but because of everything that was already pre-existing before this incident, it was easy for people to automatically plug it to her ex’s people,” she tells GU.
Green’s family has clarified on multiple outlets that the mixtape was not connected to her death.“Because she sold it so well, people believed it to the point where they believed this is why she’s gone right now, and it’s untrue,” she says. “It’s easy for people to believe because it was already out there, but nobody wants to take the time to see the truth or understand that this was just a concept project.”
Though deaths in hip-hop are not new, it doesn’t mean it should be the norm. There have been several occasions when artists are killed, and people begin to curate their own narratives. Still, with social media at the forefront, it’s easy and accessible for impressionable fans to run with false information. According to a recent study by EduBirdie, 71 percent of Gen Z trust fake info online, and over half don’t fact-check, even though 55 percent admit having faced issues from misinformation they heard on social media.
Misogyny has always lived throughout hip-hop, but the easily accessible tactics of spreading misinformation in hip-hop media have amplified the detrimental impact that can be made when situations of senseless killing occur. “We’re in an age where everybody can speak on anything; you don’t have to have any certification, license or degree to start your own blog or channel,” she says. “Social media can be very dangerous, but it’s also not a real place, so it’s finding the balance of knowing mentally these people don’t know Tan and how quickly misinformation spreads.”
Now, with the damage already done, Green’s family is on the road to justice, continuing Tan DaGod’s legacy and fighting to put an end to the dangerous misinformation spreading online. “To hear what people are saying, it’s hurtful and speaks to the mindset of the youth, gatekeepers, and people who are not using their voices in the correct way,” Lamees says.
As her family continues to pick up the pieces of this unexpected death, they want to ensure fans know how much Tan DaGod loved them for their endless support and continue to show that she was not just a character but an artist who wanted to make way for herself and her community. “When they hear things being spewed about her, I’d like for people to challenge that and speak on her legacy,” Edwards says.
About the Author: Kenyatta Victoria is the lead writer for Essence GU, working on all things pop culture, politics, entertainment and business. Throughout her time at GU, she’s garnered devoted readers and specializes in the Zillennial point of view.