Rapper and his father sought in murder - update from March case

Rapper and his father sought in murder!
By Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer

RALEIGH -- Sheriff's deputies are searching for a promising Triangle rap artist and his father in the fatal shooting of a popular Knightdale High School student.
Wake County sheriff's deputies say Nigel J. Ellison, 18, of 3508 Derring Drive was shot to death just before 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Skycrest Drive and Southall Road, about a quarter-mile from the Hedingham subdivision. A second man, Kalife I. Johnson, 19, of 1725 Gorman St. in Raleigh was wounded.
Investigators have charged Rajal Amed Wisdom Sr., 45, and his son, Rajal Amed Wisdom Jr., 22, both of Knightdale, with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. Both are at large
The younger Wisdom is an up-and-coming rap artist known in hip-hop circles as "Real Dynamite." He records with Hazardous Records at 1420 Brookside Drive.
'Hello-Hi' single
Bernard Thaxton, who owns the B&T Expedite and Delivery Service a few doors from Hazardous Records, said the younger Wisdom and Ellison knew each other. Thaxton said Wisdom Jr. was a familiar sight at the studio.
"I hope it's not true," Thaxton said Monday, hours after investigators questioned the owners of Hazardous Records and pulled fingerprint evidence from a company van. "He was always well-mannered: 'yes, sir,' 'no, sir.' I know how rappers got that stigma, but I didn't see it in him."
Nigel Ellison's father, Peter Mark Ellison, owns Lee's Kitchen, a Jamaican soul food restaurant in Mini City on Capital Boulevard. A poster of the younger Wisdom hangs in his restaurant window, announcing the release of his new single, "Hello-Hi."
Peter Ellison believes his son was romantically involved with Wisdom's daughter. He said the elder Wisdom had requested that Nigel Ellison meet with him at the swimming pool on Grand Traverse Drive in Hedingham to discuss his relationship with the girl, Peter Ellison said.
"Nigel decided to go meet him so that the two could talk man to man," Peter Ellison said
He took a friend, Kalife Johnson, with him.
But apparently the meeting didn't go well, and the teens fled down Skycrest Drive, which dead-ends in a wooded area where the shooting happened.
"The bullet went through [Johnson's] arm and into my son's chest," Peter Ellison said.
A 1995 murder charge
The elder Wisdom was charged 15 years ago in Durham with first-degree murder. He was convicted of a lesser offense of felony manslaughter, state records show.

Those who knew Nigel transformed the wooded area into a memorial Monday. Purple balloons were affixed to a stop sign along with a small, white wooden cross that read, "Nigel Ellison, Love Always, R.I.P." More flowers lined the curb. Someone had planted a small bed of purple pansies in tribute.
Peter Ellison said his son was an excellent cook and planned to go into the restaurant business after graduating from high school.
"He cooked real good," the father said. "Everybody loved him."
~Love Barbara~