A man has been arrested and charged in the apparent homicide of a pioneering rocker found dead in a pool of blood inside a private ambulette in NYC.
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Sharief Bodden, 29, from the Bronx, has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, as well as drug and weapon possession in connection with the death of 64-year-old Peter Forrest, according to The New York Post.
Forrest was found inside a parked bus on Castle Hill Avenue around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, according to police reports.
Forrest, an employee of the Long Island-based Marquis Ambulette, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities reported. He suffered severe trauma across his entire body.
The details surrounding his murder remain uncertain. According to authorities, the city’s medical examiner’s office will establish the official cause of death.
Forrest, widely recognized by music fans as P. Fluid, was a co-founder of the hardcore rock band 24/7 Spyz.
In the 1980s, the band set out to challenge the notion that Black musicians should be limited to hip-hop. According to Rolling Stone, by 1990 and 1991, 24/7 Spyz had cemented their place in the music scene, opening for the alternative rock band Jane’s Addiction.
Singer & frontman of 80's rock band 24/7 Spyz Peter Forrest a.k.a. "P Fluid" found dead morning of Jan. 14 in the back of an abandoned ambulette bus in the Bronx. P. Fluid (second from right to left) and 1980's harcore rock band 24/7 Spyz.😢Cont👇 pic.twitter.com/XMfQGzjsBJ
— Sumner (@renmusb1) January 17, 2025
Founded in 1986 in the South Bronx, 24/7 Spyz quickly made their mark with a unique sound they called heavy metal soul, blending genres in groundbreaking ways. Their debut album, Harder Than You, arrived two years later, followed by the critically acclaimed Gumbo Millennium in 1990.
Their remake of Kool and the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie” became a mainstream hit. They also released a popular music video featuring them jumping in the jungle with women in cheetah-print bikinis.
Rest in Peace P. Fluid.
— OUTOFSTEP.net ™️ (@OutOfStepdotnet) January 16, 2025
24-7 Spyz “Jungle Boogie” from the album Harder Than You 1989, In Effect/Relativity Records. Source: https://t.co/DzTB2Yxx6o. #247spyz #outofstepdotnet #twentyfoursevenspyz #jungleboogie #harderthanyou #ineffectrecords #relativityrecords #southbronx #nyc pic.twitter.com/8wOy3F3Nex
Forrest took the lead on vocals, showcasing a distinctive, fast-paced singing style reminiscent of modern hip-hop rapping.
Friends and Bandmates Remember Pioneering NYC Rocker
“He brought a sense of reckless abandon, but in a fun way,'” 24/7 Spyz bandmate Jimi Hazel told Rolling Stone. ‘He was climbing on the rafters. When he wanted to sing, he could sing. But he got more into screaming and shouting.”
After departing from 24/7 Spyz, Forrest went on to form his own band, P. Fluid Foundation. He later collaborated with Angelo Moore of Fishbone and Corey Glover of Living Colour to create a new group called AFC.
In the 2000s, he reinvented himself by founding the heavy metal band BlkVampires. The group gained a strong following in New York City’s vibrant club scene, performing at iconic venues such as the Bowery Electric.
Forrest was part of the Black Rock Coalition, a group focused on promoting talented underground Black artists in rock and roll. It was through this group that he met his ex-girlfriend, Chiedza Makonnen.
“He was my first love,'” Makonnen recalled to the New York Daily News.
The couple first crossed paths in Harlem and shared a six-year relationship. “Music was his life and advancing Black rock was his life,” she continued.
“He was passionate about that. He really helped pave that road for a lot of people to understand that Black musicians aren’t just rappers or R&B or soul, we’re rockers too,” Makonnen added.
Makonnen remembered Forrest as a social and entertaining performer who valued blending politics and activism into his music. She also noted he was also a proud military veteran.
“You could never get Peter to move out of New York. He was Mr. New York. You could not say one bad thing about New York around Peter,” she told the outlet.