MANHATTAN — A rapper in the iconic hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was arrested Wednesday for fatally stabbing a homeless man in Midtown the night before, sources said.
Nathaniel Glover, who performed under the name Kidd Creole for the Bronx-based group, got into a dispute with John Jolly, 55, before stabbing him near East 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue, sources said.
Jolly, a registered sex offender who recently stayed in a shelter on the Bowery, managed to walk about two blocks before collapsing near East 44th Street and Third Avenue, where he lay until police arrived just before midnight, officials said.
He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital, police said.
Investigators identified Glover, who was born in The Bronx and inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, from surveillance video taken in the area, an NYPD spokesman said Thursday.
Glover was busy posting messages to Twitter while investigators tried to track him down.
#rip my legendary brother #salute
— The Kidd Creole (@thekiddcreole) August 2, 2017
Glover, who lives in Mount Hope, was arrested for murder and was awaiting arraignment Thursday morning, officials said.
He has been arrested three times, for criminal possession of a weapon in 1982, 1995 and 2007, police said. The 2007 arrest for was for having a knife, but the earlier incidents involved firearms, police said.
Jolly left the BRC shelter on the Bowery in 2016, but those who knew him there said he didn't bother anyone.
"He was a good person. I was sad when I found out this morning. He was a very quiet guy. He kept to himself and never caused problems," said Robert Pensa, 28.
Jolly, who has been arrested 17 times before, was convicted of raping and beating a 42-year-old woman in 1997, authorities said. He was paroled in July 2002, records show.
Jolly was sent back to prison in 2008 for weapon possession, spending the next three years behind bars, records show. His parole ended in March 2012, records show.
It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the stabbing.
Glover is the brother of Melle Mel, who was also in the Furious Five and performed hits like "The Message" and "White Lines (Don't Do It)"
