Dallas Rapper Yella Beezy's Deion Sanders Ties Resurface Following Capital Murder Conviction

Dallas rapper Yella Beezy has been found guilty of capital murder in the shooting death of fellow recording artist Mo3.

Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, was accused of ordering the killing of Mo3 in November 2020. Kewon White, the gunman in the case, was convicted last month and sentenced to life in prison, according to CBS News. 

Under Texas law, the conviction for Conway carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. His defense attorney said he plans to appeal.

Conway pleaded not guilty to offering White and another man, Devin Brown, $40,000 to carry out the deadly shooting, which happened on I-35 in Dallas. His trial lasted over two weeks before the jury returned a verdict.

Mo3, whose real name was Melvin Noble, was 28.

The name Yella Beezy might be recognizable to Colorado football fans. He recorded "Must Be The Money II" with Deion Sanders in 2024, three and a half years after the murder plot. Conway was even on the CU sideline and did the Buff Walk with Sanders and the team before facing Utah two years ago.

Sanders' ambitions extend beyond the football field. In 1994, he ventured into the music industry with his rap album "Prime Time." Although his musical career did not achieve the same level of success as his football endeavors, it remains a noteworthy chapter in his diverse journey. The hit "Must be the Money" was even performed on Saturday Night Live.

Prime and his son, Deion Sanders Jr., spent time in the Death Row Records studio to record the recent rap track. A nostalgic visit that allowed them to reflect on Sanders' brief foray into the rap game. The studio, once a hub for legendary artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, who each hold a special place in hip-hop history.

Ironically, Sanders was signed to the famed record label back in the height of the mid-90s, according to Suge Knight. In a previous interview with Nick Cannon’s The Daily Cannon, he talked about setting up Prime Time as a lyricist.

“Deion Sanders — when Prime wanted to be a rapper, he said, ‘I want to be a rapper,’” Suge recalled. “I spent over half a million dollars of my own money. I put guys in the studio, I paid Dallas Austin, I did all these songs — did everything.

He went on to say, “Then one day, he came to me and said, 'Well, you know, Prime deals with Nike and Death Row is a Black-owned company, and we don’t really want to deal with a Black-owned company.' Even though you paid for everything, and we signed to you, put us on the Interscope brand.”

Sanders' ties to Yella Beezy now seem questionable given his conviction. Colorado is in the midst of another losing season in Boulder. At 3-6, another loss will put the Buffs out of postseason contention for another year. Outside of Sanders' 9-4 season in 2024, he only has three conference wins.

Colorado will try to take a step in the right direction this week, but has a tough Friday night task against No. 14 Houston (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).