image via GoFundMe
Jah Orah was left with a broken clavicle after a disturbing incident Saturday night in south St. Louis.
A St. Louis hip-hop artist and motivational speaker was attacked by a gang of youths on July 9 in south St. Louis, who attempted to rob him at gunpoint and then chased him down with their BMW, he says, intentionally hitting him at full speed and knocking him off his bicycle.
Jah Orah says he was cycling to his girlfriend's home when he was confronted by the youths around 11 p.m. that Saturday. They shouted "get him! get that nigga!" as he frantically pedaled away — only to hit him with their car, threaten him again with their handgun and then leave him in the alley with a broken clavicle and what appear to be sprained feet.
Police tell the RFT they believe the incident is linked to a string of robberies in the St. Louis area. While they did not publicly connect the attacks to any one incident, Orah says he's been told that it appears to be the same band of county teens who lured Pokemon players to an area of O'Fallon one day later, on July 10, and then robbed them at gunpoint."They came from O'Fallon, so apparently they came from a better part of St. Louis to get their crime spree off here," Orah says. "I guess they feel like it happens so much in the city, it wouldn't be anything to come down here and shake a couple of tailfeathers."
But what may have felt like a joyride to the handgun-wielding teens has had a huge impact on one of their victims. Orah, who works as an artist, speaker and graphic designer, also moonlights working security at 2720 — all tasks that are nearly impossible in his current physical state. His friends have launched a GoFundMe to help cover his expenses.
"This collarbone injury interferes with everything I have to do in my life," he says. "It's brought things to a standstill." In addition to being unable to use his right arm and needing physical therapy just to regain use of it, he is also now walking with a cane. "It definitely puts me in a situation where I have to seek financial help," he says.
But Orah, who moved here from Los Angeles in 2008, says he doesn't blame his adopted city for the brutal attack.
"It's a reflection of the world we live in, not St. Louis," he says. "These are the times we're living in."
He takes comfort in just how many people have already stepped up to help. "The silver lining is seeing the outpouring of support and concern I've received," he says. "I give thanks."
Orah got his start as an artist in LA, performing as a dancer and freestyle rapper as part of that city's longstanding open-mic workshop Project Blowed. Upon moving to St. Louis, he soon joined forces with fellow emcee and St. Louis native KD Assassin; as a duo they released Used To Be Bobby & Darrick in August of 2014 and were nominated for an RFT Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Group in 2015.
A spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says the investigation is ongoing.
In the GoFundMe description of attack, Orah's friends describe his attackers as three white teens and one of mixed-race. The O'Fallon robbers shown in mug shots in the Post-Dispatch story include at least one black teen, in addition to one who might be mixed-race and one white. A fourth teen, who is sixteen, has been apprehended but hasn't been publicly identified, presumably because he is underage.
Editor's note: We changed some wording in this story after publication to make it clear the attack on Orah happened July 9. We regret any confusion in our original phrasing.
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