A Memphis rapper is fighting for his life after being shot in the head on his birthday, an incident that appears to be the violent culmination of a public feud that erupted at a local casino just weeks prior. The shooting marks the second time in nine months the artist has been targeted in a potentially fatal attack, raising urgent questions about street conflicts spilling into public view.
Robert Mitchell, known professionally as YNC Trey Slime, was critically wounded in South Memphis on January 4, 2026. While Memphis Police have not officially named the victim in a shooting that left one dead and two others injured near LeMoyne-Owen College, multiple sources close to the rapper and social media activity from associates confirm his involvement. The incident occurred on McMillan Street around 6:40 p.m.
This latest violence follows a highly publicized altercation during the holiday season at a Memphis casino. In videos that circulated widely online, Trey Slime claimed he confronted and spat on a man identified as EBG Thizzle. He further alleged that his associate, “Big 30,” a known affiliate of prominent rapper Pooh Shiesty, physically assaulted the individual during the confrontation.
The target of that casino incident, EBG Thizzle, later responded in his own video, vehemently denying he was spat on or beaten and issuing his own threats. This public exchange signaled a sharp escalation in tensions, placing Trey Slime directly at odds with members of the EBG (Ebezzle Gang) faction, a group with its own deep-seated rivalries within the city’s complex rap scene.
Disturbingly, the first indication of the birthday shooting came not from authorities or family, but from rivals celebrating online. Speculation about Trey Slime’s fate grew until a graphic photograph, purportedly showing him intubated in a hospital bed with a head wound, was ๐ต๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ญ on social media by a known informant and rival artist. The image’s circulation prompted grave concerns about a breach of trust within the rapper’s inner circle.
For Mitchell, this represents a brutal pattern. Just two months after a May 2022 arrest for allegedly stealing a car and attempting to sell it back to the victim, he was shot in the face at the Ridgecrest Apartments in July 2022. That broad daylight shooting also injured a six-year-old child. Both survived.
His legal troubles continued to mount. By May 2025, Mitchell and another rapper, Andre “Bout 2 Guns” Scott, were named as suspects in a fatal gas station shootout on Range Line Road during an attempted robbery. Court documents reveal Scott was identified after his fingerprint was found on a Sprite case at the scene. While murder charges were filed against Scott, police later stated Mitchell was no longer a suspect in that specific case.
Throughout this period, Trey Slime continued his music career, often leveraging his notoriety. His social associations, however, drew scrutiny. He was seen alongside members of various crews, including EBG, despite the group being the target of diss tracks from other prominent local artists. This navigation of conflicting alliances is now a focal point for those investigating the motive behind the birthday shooting.
The ๐ต๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ญ hospital photo has ignited a furious debate online about loyalty and street politics. It suggests someone with access to the rapper in his most vulnerable state provided the image to adversaries. Family members have since taken to social media in now-deleted posts, thanking God for his survival and confirming he endured a second gunshot wound to the face.
Memphis Police Department reports the suspect in the January 4th shooting fled the scene in a dark-colored sedan. They are urging anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 528-CASH. The investigation remains active as detectives work to untangle the web of personal conflicts, rap beefs, and criminal histories that led to this violent birthday attack.
The community is left grappling with the cyclical nature of the violence. Trey Slime’s storyโa young man aspiring for fame, surviving two point-blank gunshots to the face within a year, only to be targeted again on the day marking his birthโhas become a grim testament to the perilous realities intersecting some corners of the city’s music scene and street life. His continued survival is described by those close to him as a miracle, but one overshadowed by the urgent and unresolved threats that remain.