Local rap battle helps raise money for drive-by shooting victim

SALT LAKE CITY — The family of a teenager shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Murray last month is grateful for the support of a niche community.

“Mic Masters Alliance is a rap battle league, but it’s also like family to me,” said Nathan Barth.

He DJed for Mic Masters Alliance, which hosted a Saturday night rap battle in downtown Salt Lake City.

“The local hip hop community has been really, really great and has definitely grown a lot,” Barth said.

Barth is the stepfather of 14-year-old Aspen McCarty. McCarty was seriously injured after being shot multiple times near a Trax stop. A 21-year-old man was shot and killed and another teenager was also injured.

The alleged suspect, Raoul Bedoang, 17, faces 19 charges. He was charged Thursday as an adult.

“(Aspen is) still in the hospital. He’s confined to a wheelchair,” Barth said.

Doctors informed Aspen's family that he might not be able to walk again.

“Our house is definitely not wheelchair accessible and so we're going to have to uproot our entire life and move everything completely,” Barth said.

Proceeds from Saturday's rap battle went to Aspen's family, “and everyone, collectively as a team, came together and donated as well,” said Jared Boyden, president of Mic Masters Alliance.

“We established… that everyone is like family. So when something happens (to a person), we're all there and the severity of everything that happened, it was something that shocked us all,” Boyden said.

Something Barth said will go a long way in helping Aspen.

“We certainly feel blessed in that way,” he said.