LANSING (WWJ) - Friends and family of Curshawn Terrell, also known as Kaz, have more questions than answers after the music producer and engineer was shot and killed while at his Lansing recording studio on New Year's Eve.
He was 40 years old.
“It’s just insane to me,” Kaz’s friend Yanice Jackson told FOX 47. “That someone thought they had the right to cut someone’s life short, and this is someone who did so much for the community.”
According to local police, the shooting happened the afternoon of Dec. 31 at Kaz's recording studio off East Michigan Avenue. When officers arrived on scene, they found Kaz and a second male victim with gunshot wounds.
The two men were taken to Sparrow Hospital where Kaz was pronounced dead. The other victim remains hospitalized in critical condition, police added.
The suspect or suspects didn't stop there, FOX 47 reported. After police cleared the scene, witnesses reported that they came back to the building and opened fired a second time, hitting the studio and cars parked in the area.
“When I think about them coming back to shoot that place up, then they really has no heart,” Jackson said. “But now, I can’t believe that I will be driving past that building on Michigan Avenue, and he won’t there.”
Police said they do not suspect the shooting was at random, but close friends said Kaz was focused on his career and wasn't involved with people who would cause drama.
"He’s been around the industry a long time man,” said Kaz’s friend Antione Owens. “He’s recorded songs with T.I. and other notable artists.”
"Whether people were rockstars, pop stars, rappers, it didn’t matter. He would help you get to where you wanted to be musically,” Jackson said.
As told by the Chronicle News, Kaz also worked with other notable musicians such as Ace Hood, Young Jeezy, Blood Raw, and Lyfe Jennings along with independent artists throughout the Midwest.
Kaz got his first big break in 2009 when he signed to DJ Khaled for three years as an in-house producer.
In his interview back in 2021, Kaz said he had plans to teach small classes of young children how to be producers and create beats.
"It's essential to give back," Kaz said at the time to the Chronicle News.
Kaz was a Lansing native and graduate of Everett High School. He is survived by his mother, sister, daughter and close friends.
The shooting remains under investigation with authorities. No other details about the case were released.