Sickapedia: April 2016

April 8, 1968 – November 30, 1995

Randy Walker was born in Springfield Garden, Queens on April 8, 1968 in New York City. His mother, Lucilda, had emigrated from Jamaica to the U.S. two years prior to his birth. Walker's father died when he was 13 years old. His mother supported him, his brother and his two sisters by working as a nursing attendant at New york University Medical Center.

Eventually growing to 6'8", Walker acquired the apt nickname "Stretch".

By 1988, Walker, his younger brother, Chris "Majesty" Walker and DJ K-Low formed the rap group Live Squad. Two of the group's songs, "Troopin' It" and "We Ain't Havin' It" were featured on BQ In Full Effect.

Stretch's daughter, Moneysha, was born in 1989.

In 1990, Yo! MTV Raps host James "Ed Lover" Roberts passed Live Squad's demo to a Tommy Boy Records rep, which resulted in the group securing a record deal with the label. That same year, the Walkers met labelmate and Digital Underground founder, Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, who introduced Stretch to DU group member Tupac Shakur the following year. Stretch's first of many collaborations with Shakur is a verse he contributed to the DU song "Family of the Underground", which appears on DU's 1991 album, Sons of the P. He was also featured on "Crooked Ass Nigga" and "Tha' Lunatic" from Shakur's debut solo album, 1991's 2Pacalypse Now.

After Shakur was cast in the movie Juice, Walker accompanied him to the film's Harlem set and made a cameo in the film. Following Shakur's discovery that a local teen he'd befriended had stolen some of his jewelry from his trailer, Walker, fellow rapper Anthony "Treach" Criss and Shakur stomped him in the street.

Stretch and Tupac Shakur

In 1992, Tommy Boy released Live Squad's double A side single "Murderahh/Heartless".

The following year, Live Squad released the short film, Game of Survival, featuring the group members in a music video and a skit. Tommy Boy, however, dropped the group that same year due to the violent content of their music. The group does appear, however, on the songs "5 Deadly Venomz" and "Strugglin'" on Shakur's 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. In addition to "5 Deadly Venomz", Stretch also produced the album tracks "Holler If Ya Hear Me" and "The Streetz R Deathrow".

Stretch made another movie appearance in 1993, in the comedy, Who's the Man?, starring his old friend Ed Lover. He also made a cameo in the music video for the Above the Law track "Call It What You Want", which features Shakur and Ron "Money-B" Brooks and "P.

Mopreme, Tupac Shakur, Ed Lover and Stretch

The 1994 movie Above the Rim, featuring Shakur, features the Stretch/Shakur collaboration, "Pain", which Stretch also produced. The two performed on the Arsenio Hall Show that same year. Stretch also appeared in the music video for Shakur's song "Pour Out a Little Liquor" and played a prominent role in the Shakur-directed music video for Mac Mall's "Ghetto Theme".

On November 30, 1994, Stretch accompanied Shakur to Manhattan's Quad Recording Studios. Shakur had been invited to the studio by James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond in order to record a song with rapper Shawn "Little Shawn" Wilkins -- for whom Rosemond was acting as manager. At approximately 12:25 am, they were robbed in the lobby by two armed perpetrators.

Tupac and Stretch

Walker's friendship with Shakur soured when the latter learned that the Queens rapper was doing shows with Christopher "Biggie Smalls" Wallace -- who Shakur blamed for not warning him about the robbery plot -- while Shakur was incarcerated.

Shakur suggested in a prison interview later published in Vibe magazine that Walker's failure to fight the gunmen who approached them in the lobby of the building that housed the Quad Recording Studios was suspicious.

Walker produced the tracks "Take It in Blood" (on which Nas mentions him by name) and "Silent Murder", both of which appeared on the 1996 album, It Was Written, for fellow-Queens rapper Nasir "Nas" Jones.

Tupac, Ed Lover and Stretch

On November 30, 1995, after he dropped off his brother, Chris, at his home in Queens, which was located four blocks away from his own home, two unidentified men in a black vehicle pulled up alongside Walker's green 1992 Mazda MVP while he was driving along 112th Ave. and 209th St. in Queens Village and opened fire. A high-speed chase ensued, resulting in Walker crashing his vehicle into a tree, hitting a parked car and flipping over. He had been shot four times, twice in the back.

Walker's shooting death ocurred one year to the day after Shakur's Quad Studios shooting. He was 27 years old. He was buried next to his father in a cemetery in Long Island, New York.