The Pivot Podcast welcomed rapper and podcaster Gillie Da Kid on the show, where he got candid about his son’s death in the Sept. 12 episode.
Per a MadameNoire report, Gillie lost his 25-year-old son, YNG Cheese (Devin Spady), on July 20 after he was fatally shot in a triple shooting in Philadelphia.
Gillie told the podcast hosts that losing Cheese was the hardest thing in his life. During that difficult time, the Philly native said the most harrowing yet best moment came when he washed his son’s body to give him a proper sendoff.
“That was the worst, but it was also the best because I became a man that day. I thought I was a fucking man, but I wasn’t,” the grieving father shared. “That day, I became a man. I was a little ass boy up to that point. I thought I was a man because I paid bills. I took care of my family. I take care of my sisters. I take care of my dad. I take care of my mom. Kids that [are] not even my kids because they lost [their] dad.”
He continued, “When I washed my son’s body, it was a gift and a curse. It was a good thing and a bad thing because it was a very painful thing to see your son lying there, cold and stiff. But I know I sent him off right.”
The Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast co-host looked directly at one camera and thanked Philly Freeway, a former member of the rap group State Property, for helping him through the traumatic time.
“I want to thank Freeway from the bottom of my heart,” Gillie said with sincerity. “You was there every step of the way with me, brother, washing my son’s body, the hardest shit I ever had to do in my fucking life. I will always love you and respect you, brother, for life. I appreciate that.”
Gillie added that washing his son’s body confirmed that things were real.
The Philadelphia shooting occurred on the 5800 block of Mascher Street around 8:24 p.m. The rising rapper was shot in the back and rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries around 8:39 p.m.
Nine days after the shooting, Gillie took to Instagram with a message to his 25-year-old offspring.
“I miss [you] like $**t, Dev. My heart will forever have a black hole in it, but [you] know [your] father gotta be strong to hold the family up,” Gillie wrote, thanking family, friends and followers for helping him through rough times. “Rest well, Dev, and watch over us. [You] know I got Chase. Love [you], Cheese.”
Chase is YNG Cheese’s daughter, whom he left behind.
Watch the full interview below.
