What Happened to Troy Ave? Irving Plaza, Taxstone, and Rikers

Troy Ave, the Brooklyn rapper born Roland Collins, survived a 2016 shooting at Irving Plaza in Manhattan that killed his bodyguard, was initially charged with attempted murder, and eventually struck a plea deal to testify against the man convicted of the killing. He served six months at Rikers Island and was released in August 2024.

The Shooting at Irving Plaza

Around 10:00 p.m. on May 25, 2016, gunfire erupted inside a third-floor green room at Irving Plaza, shortly before Collins was set to open for T.I.¹ Prosecutors said Daryl Campbell, a hip-hop podcaster known as Taxstone who had carried on a years-long feud with Collins, confronted Collins and his bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, shouted “What’s poppin’?” and pulled a gun from his waistband.² A fistfight became a shooting. Campbell shot McPhatter in the chest and then shot Collins in both legs as the two men wrestled over the gun.³ Two bystanders were also wounded.

McPhatter, 33, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.⁴ T.I. was not involved in the incident.

Troy Ave’s Arrest and Attempted Murder Charge

Within hours, the NYPD released an eight-second surveillance clip showing Collins firing a handgun inside the green room and walking out of frame, visibly limping.⁵ Police arrested him and charged him with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.⁶ A 9-millimeter Kel-Tec semiautomatic handgun was recovered from a hidden compartment in the car Collins used to drive himself to the hospital.⁷

Collins pleaded not guilty at his June 22, 2016 arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court to one count of attempted second-degree murder and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.⁸ He was released in July 2016 on $500,000 bail.⁹ He maintained throughout that he had acted in self-defense after being attacked and shot.¹⁰

Shot Again on Christmas Day 2016

Seven months after Irving Plaza, Collins was shot a second time. Around 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Day 2016, he was driving his red Maserati through East Flatbush in Brooklyn when a man in a hoodie approached the driver’s side window and opened fire.¹¹ One bullet grazed his head and another struck his arm. His car hit a median and collided with another vehicle. He drove himself to Brookdale Hospital and was treated and released in stable condition.¹² No suspects were identified, and police did not publicly tie the attack to the Irving Plaza case, though Collins’s attorney said the incident showed the rapper had been targeted.

Taxstone’s Conviction

Forensic testing found Campbell’s DNA on the trigger, grip, and magazine of the recovered handgun, alongside Collins’s.⁷ Campbell was arrested in January 2017 on federal gun charges and pleaded guilty to those. In July 2017, state authorities charged him in connection with the shooting itself.¹³

At Campbell’s state trial in March 2023, Collins was the prosecution’s key witness. He testified about the struggle over the gun and said he had told McPhatter to confront Campbell moments before the shooting turned fatal.² On March 23, 2023, a Manhattan jury found Campbell guilty of first-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault, and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.³ On June 20, 2023, he was sentenced to 35 years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.¹³

The Plea Deal and Six Months at Rikers

Collins’s cooperation came with a dramatic reduction in his own exposure. In exchange for testifying against Campbell, his legal team negotiated a plea that cut his potential sentence from up to 15 years to one year.¹⁴ He pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and the attempted murder count was dropped.¹⁵

Collins turned himself in on February 9, 2024.¹⁶ Roughly two months he had served in custody while awaiting bail in 2016 counted toward the sentence. He served six months at Rikers Island and was released in August 2024.¹⁵ He marked the release with an Instagram post showing himself outside the facility in front of a red Lamborghini Urus holding a large bag of cash, captioned “Ya boi home!” In a video shared the same day, he said he wanted to go “straight to the airport.”¹⁷

The Civil Suits Against Irving Plaza

The criminal case was not the only litigation to come out of the shooting. On August 8, 2016, Collins filed a negligence suit in Brooklyn Supreme Court against Irving Plaza and its owner, Live Nation, alleging that people entering the VIP entrance were not patted down, which allowed the firearm into the venue.¹⁸ Two concertgoers filed their own suits over injuries and mental anguish suffered during the stampede that followed the gunfire.¹⁹ NYPD investigators confirmed that although metal detectors were in place at the venue’s main entrance, there were none for VIPs entering the green room area where the shooting took place.²⁰

1
NBC New York. New York Hip Hop Personality Taxstone Guilty in Deadly 2016 Shooting at Irving Plaza
2
Complex. Troy Ave Details Taxstone Struggle for Gun in Irving Plaza Shooting Testimony
3
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg Announces Prison Sentence of Daryl Campbell for Irving Plaza Shooting
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CBS News New York. Daryl Campbell Known as Taxstone Convicted in Deadly Shooting at Irving Plaza
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New York Times. Rapper Troy Ave Is Arrested in Fatal Shooting at T.I. Concert
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ABC 7 New York. Video Shows Gunman at Rap Concert; Troy Ave Arrested
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Vibe. Taxstone DNA Troy Ave Gun Irving Plaza Shooting
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New York Times. Troy Ave Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted Murder in T.I. Concert Shooting
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DNAinfo. Troy Ave Free on $500K Bail but Is Barred From Performing
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HotNewHipHop. Troy Ave Jail Graphic Details Taxstone Shooting
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ABC 7 New York. Rapper Troy Ave Released From Hospital After Shot on Christmas Day
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BET. Report: Rapper Troy Ave Shot Twice in Brooklyn
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Billboard. Taxstone Sentenced to Prison for Troy Ave Bodyguard Shooting
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New York Post. Rapper Taxstone Sentenced to 35 Years for Irving Plaza Shooting
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XXL Magazine. Troy Ave Released From Prison
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Vibe. Troy Ave Prison Sentence 2016 Shooting
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Billboard. Troy Ave Released From Jail With Lamborghini and Cash
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Rolling Stone. Troy Ave Sues Live Nation, Irving Plaza After Concert Shooting
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Billboard. Fans Sue Live Nation, Irving Plaza Over Troy Ave Shooting Panic
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NY Daily News. Anti-Gang Violence Activist Mourns the Loss of Younger Brother Killed in T.I. Concert Shooting