The Family Of Deceased Rapper Goonew Defended Their Decision To Prop Up His Corpse On Stage At A D.C. Nightclub

April 6, 2022 / Posted by:

Rapper Goonew was shot and killed almost three weeks ago in District Heights, Maryland, just a few blocks from where he was raised. He was only 24, and his murder remains unsolved. Goonew’s family held his funeral this past Sunday, and it wasn’t your typical send-off. With the help of the funeral home, they propped up Goonew’s embalmed corpse on stage at Bliss Nightclub in Washington D.C. The deceased rapper, whose real name was Markelle Morrow, was dressed in sneakers, jeans, an Amiri hoodie, and a crown. They called the service, “The Last Show.” Mourners paid a $40 cover charge for the privilege to party in the presence of Goonew’s body. The rapper’s mom, Patrice Morrow, told TMZ that her son was the life of the party, and, “that’s why I sent him home that way. Having a party.”

Here’s footage of Goonew’s actual corpse on display at his funeral:

The footage went viral, and it caused a lot of controversies. An employee at the bar reportedly tweeted that staff wasn’t informed about the event beforehand, and were shocked to see the propped-up body. Soon Bliss Nightclub released a statement apologizing for the event:

But Goonew’s mom, Patrice, and sister, Ariana Morrow, have been doing interviews defending their decision. Patrice told TMZ:

We wanted to give him a party. We didn’t wanna give him a funeral. This wasn’t sitting right with me, saying “funeral for my son.” The type of son that I had… my son loves to have fun. He was the life of the party. So that’s why I sent him home that way… having a party.

Patrice made it clear that she didn’t want anyone looking down on her son, and the family was inspired to prop him up after seeing other services do the same thing. Ariana adds that her brother didn’t go to church, and it would have been “fake and phony” for them to dress him in a suit, put him in a casket, and play Gospel music:

So we dressed my brother how he like. He look exactly how he was, literally if he was here and breathing. And we lived and we partied for him on that day, how my brother would have wanted.

They add that it was the funeral home’s idea to have Goonew wear a crown since he was known as the “King of Maryland.” Here’s the Morrow family’s interview with TMZ:

Local news station WUSA9 also covered the story and spoke to staff at the funeral home. The women insist that Bliss Nightclub was totally aware that Goonew’s body would be inside their building for the event. However, they admit that they “did not state whether or not he would be in a casket or he would be standing.” Ahhh, semantics! Here’s that footage:

You know what? People across the world honor their dead loved ones in loads of different ways. The people of Varanasi, India, parade dead bodies through the streets and sprinkle them with water from the Ganges River before they are cremated. Every few years the Malagasy people of Madagascar open up the tombs of their ancestors, rewrap them in fresh burial clothes, and dance to live music while carrying the corpse above their heads. This ritual is called “the turning of the bones.” The Tinguian people in the Philippines dress their deceased in fancy clothes, place a lit cigarette in their lips, and sit the body on a chair. This is all to say: respect Goonew’s family’s decision, which may or may not have been influenced by the seminal 1989 hit, Weekend at Bernie’s.

Pic: Instagram

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