Rapper ScHoolboy Q in 'targeted' shooting

Rapper ScHoolboy Q who played in Auckland and Wellington last weekend.

A shooting involving US rapper ScHoolboy Q - who performed in New Zealand last weekend - after a concert at the historic Red Rocks amphitheatre west of Denver was probably not random, police say.

"This is not just a coincidence. We think there is probably more to it than that," said Jacki Kelley, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Saturday.

"It does seem to be more targeted than random."

The rapper was not hurt in Thursday night's shooting but three other people in the vehicle he was in sustained injuries. One was released from the hospital Friday morning.

No arrests have been made but Kelley said investigators had received numerous tips and were trying to determine a motive for the attack in a parking lot at the outdoor venue, where the Beatles and Grateful Dead have performed and U2 filmed Under a Blood Red Sky.

ScHoolboy Q, whose birth name is Quincy Matthew Hanley, is from Los Angeles. His most recent album, Oxymoron, debuted at No. 1 earlier this year and reflects his life as a father and former gang member.

He and Kendrick Lamar, who was nominated for seven Grammys this year, are members of Black Hippy.

ScHoolboy Q said on Twitter Friday that he was OK.

"im str8...... dont trip," he wrote. His next tweet said. "and IM STILL GOING TO ICELAND 2MORROW, & NEW YORK WEDNESDAY."

In March, when ScHoolboy Q played at a sold-out show in Denver, someone in the crowd threw an object at the performer, who jumped off the stage to confront the person, The Denver Post reported. Security staff separated them.

Ray Alba, a representative for ScHoolboy Q, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The rapper and at least four other people were in the white SUV that was fired on at the venue in the foothills west of Denver, authorities said.

They drove themselves to a Denver intersection about 25 kilometres away, apparently in search of a hospital, before being stopped by Denver police and taken for medical attention, Kelley said.

ScHoolboy Q and another uninjured person were briefly handcuffed while police assessed the situation, but no one in the vehicle was arrested. Kelley said ScHoolboy Q was not a suspect in the shooting.

AP jk

-AAP