In the Season 2 premiere episode of Black Ink Crew: Chicago, 9 Mag owner Ryan Henry realizes his staff is taking advantage of him. Before he steps up and hires a new tattoo artist which doesn’t exactly thrill the staff, he sits down with rapper King Louie who is given credit for coining the term ‘Chiraq’ due to the proliferation of shootings in the city of Chicago. Ryan and Louie talk about gun violence on the show before King Louie gets a new tattoo. (Ryan’s sister Nova and her 10-month-old daughter Ava were fatally shot in 2009.)
[King Louie was nominated for a Grammy as a writer on Kanye West’s song ‘New Slaves’]
In December 2015, King Louie was shot seven times (one in the head) while sitting in a car in Chicago’s Southwest Side neighborhood of Ashburn. On Black Ink Crew: Chicago, the 29-year-old Louie says, “I was just glad everybody prayed for me and the prayers worked, man.” Two people died in that shooting. Black Ink Crew: Chicago airs Mondays at 9pm on VH1.
