Member of Kansas Hip-Hop Group Da Bombsquad Found Dead

The body of Anthony "Clacc" Vital, a member of underground Lawrence, Kansas hip-hop group Da Bombsquad, was found along a stretch of US Highway 40 on Sunday (October 15). Vital's body was found in a field about two miles outside of Lawrence, and while the death has been ruled suspicious by law enforcement, no official cause of death has been released. Authorities are reportedly looking for a 1998 Ford Thunderbird that may be connected to the death and have asked anybody with knowledge of the incident to contact local authorities.

According to acquaintances, Vital was "a spiritual person," although he was involved in a home invasion in the late 1990s that landed him on probation. A largely local group, Da Bombsquad released their first album, Timz Up, on Lock-N-Load Records in 2001 and aspired to be the first rap group from Kansas to make it big. Keith Loneker of Lock-N-Load told local paper The Lawrence Journal-World, "He was a kid who had so much talent. If he could have been guided, there was a lot out there for him." Vital reportedly worked part time at the local bus company, and according to fellow group member Richard "GQ the Country Bunkin" Thomas, he leaves behind a wife.