Westside Gunn has aided the family of Clara “Claire” Gomez, whose photo appeared on the cover of WWCD, after she unexpectedly passed away this week.
According to Buffalo News, Claire, 58, passed away on Tuesday (May 23) night after she was struck by an out-of-control SUV that was allegedly fleeing gunfire from a pursuing vehicle. The SUV crashed into Claire at the entrance of the Metro Rail station at Main and West Utica streets in Buffalo, New York killing her instantly.
“She was, tragically, in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Raymonda Reynolds, who witnessed the crash. “It was no fault of her own.”
Authorities told the outlet that two women in the SUV were being chased from Jefferson Avenue and Best Street to Main and Utica by another man in a vehicle and that the man was shooting at them as they fled.
The accused shooter, 22-year-old Marlon D. Servance Jr., was charged with one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment. City Court Judge Diane Wray remanded him to jail without bail.
Claire’s nephew Joe Rodriquez arranged a GoFundMe on Wednesday (May 24) to help ensure she’s buried next to her sister, and thanked everyone for all the love over the years despite Claire being a “thorn in everyone’s side at times.”
The Griselda founder chipped in a whopping $10,000 donation to cover her funeral, and took a moment on Twitter to shout out his “fav Buffalo kid.”
“My fav Buffalo Kid,” West wrote. “You’ll be Loved Forever #IMMORTAL#RIPCLAIRE…Bury My Baby In Style #RIPCLAIRE The Legend.”
WWCD, which stood for What Would Chine Gun Do, is the debut studio album from Griselda and dropped via Shady and Interscope on November 29, 2019.
The album was produced entirely by Daringer and Beat Butcha, and featured appearances from 50 Cent, Eminem, Raekwon, Keisha Plum, Novel, and Tiona Deniece. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Rap Albums and No. 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Claire was a well-known local figure in Buffalo, and often wandered into oncoming traffic to demand money or food from drivers. She was not homeless, and those that knew her said she struggled with drug addiction and mental illness.
“She got up and got dressed like anyone who’d go to work, and then went to McDonald’s and Burger King to ask for money all day long,” a local pastor told Buffalo News. “Everyone thought she was a vagrant, but she … was not offensive or disrespectful in any way.”
Meanwhile, Westside Gunn recently unveiled the release date for his Pray For Paris sequel, & THEN U PRAY FOR ME, and he’s already labeled it “a classic.”
The Griselda rapper celebrated the third anniversary of his 2020 Pray For Paris LP on last month by announcing that & THEN U PRAY FOR ME will be arriving on June 23 in the midst of Paris Fashion Week.
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