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Yungeen Ace claims he and Julio Foolio were on good terms before the Florida rapper was shot and killed.
On Sunday night, July 21, Ace hopped on Instagram Live and responded to questions from his fans. One person asked the Jacksonville rapper about his thoughts on Julio Foolio's death. Foolio and Ace were involved in a years-long beef before the 26-year-old artist was murdered in Tampa last month. Despite their chaotic past, Ace appeared to sympathize with his former foe and said he didn't condone what happened to him.
“That s**t sad, I ain’t gonna lie, bruh," he said. "Leave the streets alone, playa. I don’t condone s**t like that.”
“It’s so funny ’cause we were cool and s**t,” he added. “I was just talking to him and I was like, ‘Bruh, you gotta stay out of the way. You know a n***a love you out here. I f**k with you, real s**t.'”
Fans were surprised to hear him change his tone about Julio Foolio. The two had been going back and forth on wax and in the streets for years. Their beef went mainstream in 2021 after Ace dropped his song "Who I Smoke" featuring Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa and FastMoney Goon. The viral song, which samples Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles," sparked a scathing response from Foolio over Fantasia's "When I See You."
Within hours of Foolio's death, fans were already convinced Ace was involved after he dropped his song "Do It" on the same day and allegedly made references to the shooting.
"Every car I've been these b***hes tinted/Choppers and killers in it," he spits. "Catch his a*s and do his a*s, you know he finished/He with his baby, do it/He with his b***h, do it/With his mama, do it."
In another track "Game Over," Ace appears to allude to specific details about Foolio's death. The shooting reportedly happened just before 5 a.m. in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn. Foolio was fatally struck in his vehicle while three other men sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
"Five in the mornin', I got a call, what is this?" Ace raps. "Dead on the floor, dead on arrival, Mr. 6 (Oh no)/Uh, I'm steady screamin' out, 'F**k the law' and 'F**k the 6'/Four in the car and one of them dead, three got hit (Grrah)."
Police are currently investigating Foolio's death. So far, there have been no reports of new suspects. However, some outlets reported that an anonymous person claimed responsibility for shooting Foolio. The masked person accused Ace of ordering the hit for $10,000, but he has yet to be identified. Fans aren't sure what to believe, especially since someone with access to Foolio's Instagram account recently claimed the rapper is still alive.