Melvin La’Branch III is in the spotlight as the late brother of singer August Alsina. He died aged 24 after he was shot in the head one block away from his eastern New Orleans home. Melvin left behind his girlfriend and their three daughters under her care. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2018 from cancer, leaving the girls under August Alsina’s care.
August Alsina is an American singer from New Orleans, Louisiana, known for hit singles like I Luv This Shit (featuring Trinidad James) and No Love (featuring Nicki Minaj). You might also know Alsina from the 2020 entanglement drama with actress Jada Pickett Smith.
Questions like who shot Melvin La’Branch and why are constantly asked, and this post will shed some light on the subject.
Melvin La’Branch Bio
Melvin La’Branch III was born in 1987 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He lived with his parents and worked at his family’s business, where he was training to become its manager before his untimely death. On 31 August 2010, Melvin was shot in the head on his street, just a block from his home, where he lived with his girlfriend, mother, and three daughters.
When police officers found him after a 911 call, Melvin was conscious, but the medics pronounced him dead when undergoing treatment at Interim LSU Public Hospital. Melvin La’Branch was 24 when he died. His murderer and the motive of his murder is still a mystery.
Melvin La’Branch Family
Melvin La’Branch was a devoted family man. According to Melvin’s father, he never left his three daughters’ side since they were born and loved and cared for them. His girlfriend and baby momma were Chandra. She remained close to Melvin’s family after his death, especially his brother August Alsina.
Sadly, on Christmas Day in 2018, Chandra succumbed to cancer, an occurrence that devastated the ‘Why I Do It, singer. August Alsina shared a long post on Instagram lamenting his nieces’ mother’s death and ended it by promising to take care of her daughters as his own. He declared, “I’m a DAD now & I have 3 daughters, & I don’t know the slightest thing about it or where to start, but unfortunately I/we know loss too well.”
Melvin La’Branch’s Brother
August Anthony Alsina Jr., commonly known as August Alsina, was born on 3 September 1992. He had a turbulent upbringing since his father and stepfather were battling crack cocaine addiction. His mother moved with him to Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At some point, the singer disagreed with his mother and was kicked out.
Alsina was inspired to sing by Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2 and uploaded his first videos on youtube aged 14. After his brother died in 2010, he became more committed to his musical career and moved to Atlanta in 2011. Alsina released his first mixtape, The Product, in 2012. His first hit single, I Luv This Shit, was released in January 2013, followed by a second mixtape, The Product 2, in May 2013. His albums include Testimony (2014), This Thing Called Life (2015), and The Product III: State of Emergency (2020).
Alsina let on that he suffers from a severe autoimmune disease that attacks his liver, which has led to multiple incidents and hospitalization. In 2020, he revealed that he was romantically involved with Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Wrapping Up
Melvin’s death was untimely, and so was his girlfriend’s eight years later. We can only wish the couple’s daughters well as they grow under August Alsina’s care.
