The music world in Atlanta was abruptly shaken when Jerome “Blizzy” Blake, a promising up-and-coming rapper, recorded what would unknowingly be his final track at the legendary Metropolitan Studios.
During what seemed like a typical recording session for Blake, whose influence was rapidly growing within the city’s hip hop community, terror struck. On April 20, 2016, three men, masquerading as music producers, stormed into the studio and unleashed a barrage of gunfire, tragically ending Blake’s life on the spot.
Amidst the panic and confusion, Atlanta Police homicide investigator Brett Zimbrick described the scene in an episode of Oxygen’s The Real Murders of Atlanta, saying, “The studio was left in utter chaos.”
As detectives meticulously examined the gruesome crime scene—which also saw gunman Nathan Hannon among the casualties—they unraveled a sinister plot of revenge and treachery that fatally ensnared Blake, an innocent bystander.
Who Was Jerome “Blizzy” Blake?
Blake was a native of Atlanta and grew up as part of a close-knit trio of siblings, whose bond was as strong as it was enduring.
“He was a good, upstanding young man,” local reporter Tara Lombardo explained, “who was part-time at college, and just had a dream of becoming a rapper.”
It seemed he may be getting his break, when he got the chance to record at Metropolitan Studios—the same studio where hip hop stars Ludacris and Young Thug had once recorded, making the opportunity especially meaningful.
“If you got an opportunity to record there,” Trap History author A.R. Shaw explained, “you’d take it if you can.”
What Happened to Jerome “Blizzy” Blake?
Blake was at the studio for his first session the night of April 20, 2016 with friends Casey Battle and Caleb Sims, when Battle briefly stepped outside to call his girlfriend.
Battle later told police that three men claiming to be music producers had asked him to let them in and he agreed, leading the men back to the recording studio before returning outside to continue the conversation with his girlfriend.
As he told detectives, “I thought we had some producers coming for real.”
Moments later, gunfire erupted. Sims told police he had been in the booth recording at the time of the shooting and had an AK-47 with him for protection.
“I see a dude standing over Blizzy,” he told detectives. “The next thing I know, he starts shooting over and over and over.”
Scared, Sims told detectives that he used his own firearm to shoot through the glass of the recording booth, killing 27-year-old Hannon and sending the other two suspects running.
“I run back beside where Blizzy was sitting there. Where he’s sitting there dying,” Sims said. “I mean, I just happened to be in the booth. They could have shot me the same way.”
Investigators Find Shell Casings, Diamond-Encrusted Necklace at Crime Scene
Sims—who police concluded had acted in self-defense—called 911 and officers arrived minutes later to find a horrifying scene.
“You’re talking a small, windowless room with bullet holes, ricochets, furniture turned over, blood everywhere,” Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Brett Pinion recalled. “The scale of violence that you saw in this studio is really unimaginable to most people.”
Hannon—who had been struck in the head and torso—was still clutching a gunl, which authorities later confirmed had been used to kill Blake.
Blake, laying nearby, had been unarmed and suffered four gunshot wounds.
Along with 28 shell casings, investigators also found a diamond-encrusted necklace that said “Rich Show” in the studio.
“They really had no idea who this necklace belonged to,” Lombardo explained. “Did that belong to one of the victims? Was that a stage name for one of the perpetrators, one the shooters, that came in? Was it left as a message?”
Surveillance Footage Provides Telling Clue to Jerome Blake’s Murder
Sims told investigators that he couldn’t imagine` who would have wanted to harm him or Blake.
As authorities continued to search for answers, Blake’s family celebrated his life at the recording studio by releasing balloons.
“Everybody came out,” his sister Kisna Blake recalled. “And I just broke down. That was my best friend. That was my protector.”
For police, the pieces of the crime began to fall together after they received surveillance footage from the recording studio. The footage showed the three men being walked into the studio by Battle, just as he described.
But as the two surviving suspects are captured running out of the studio, one appeared to stop and turn back, then help Battle out the door as they ran off in the same direction together. Police also noticed that Battle was carrying a gun in his hand as he ran off.
“Now Casey Battle failed to tell us he had a firearm,” Zimbrick noted, “and was running with the individuals out of the building.”
Who Killed Jerome “Blizzy” Blake?
With the damaging new evidence in hand, detectives confronted Battle.
“Look man,” one detective told him in the interrogation, “you set this man up to get killed, man.”
Battle ultimately told investigators that he and the three men who came to the recording studio were all working for a man he only knew as “Rich Show,” the same name found on the diamond necklace at the crime scene.
According to Battle, he was hired to help the three men gain access to the studio because Sims had stolen the necklace from Rich Show—later identified as Kenson Hunte—and was flaunting the necklace on social media.
Feeling disrespected, Hunte was determined to get the necklace back and hired the men to carry out the robbery.
Battle insisted that killing Blake had never been part of the plan.
“When Battle learned that Blake was going to be inside the recording studio, he didn’t feel the need to call it off,” Lombardo said, “because again, he thought this was just going to be a robbery.”
Despite the claim, police arrested Battle and charged him with murder. Hunte was also arrested along with another suspect identified as Sheldon Dooley.
The third man to enter the building that day has never been identified.
“This was a tragedy in a number of areas,” Lombardo said. “The community lost an upstanding young man, and aspiring young hip hop artist who could have made a massive contribution to the industry. It was just a classic being in the wrong place and the wrong time.”
What Happened to Casey Battle, Kenson Hunte and Sheldon Dooley?
Battle was convicted of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and was sentenced to life in prison plus five years. Dooley was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to two life sentences plus 45 years.
Hunte pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and burglary and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
For Blake’s family, justice has still not been served, especially as one of the suspects remains at large.
“One thing that I would want the world to know about my brother is that he loved everybody,” his sister said. “And I know he misses everybody, just like we miss him. He is never forgotten.”