Fans of rapper Project Youngin thought they witnessed a graphic scene when the rhymer appeared to be shot while filming an Instagram Live session on July 29. Thoughts and prayers for the rapper rolled in as he continued to remain silent. Youngin finally reappeared on social media on Thursday (Aug. 2) and revealed the staged shooting was promotion for his new "Thug Souljas" video.

"Moral of the story: if you got love for me let me know now ❤️ don’t wait till I’m Dead & Gone #ThugSouljas Video Out NOW," Youngin wrote in a caption of a clip from the video. In the "Thug Souljas" visuals, the artist can be heard saying, "In life, they say you're not a legend until you're gone. People don't really know you or show real support until you're dead or in jail."

The video also features a clip of the staged shooting, showing Youngin dropping his phone as gun shots ring in the background. The phone recording then switches to a professional video shoot, as the rapper can be seen with realistic looking gunshot wounds.

In a separate Instagram post, Youngin got defensive when discussing critics who called him out for the fake shooting. "I don’t owe nobody shit but my Fans!" he wrote. "And people that I love n who love me! I ain’t fake my death I never said I was dead nor said I got shot, 'that aint nun to play bout' I was shooting a video!"

But the rapper did apologize to his fans, adding that he was sorry for the misunderstanding. "But to my real fans I do apologize for the misunderstanding Love y’all," he wrote.

Peep Project Youngin's Instagram posts below, as well as the "Thug Souljas" video.

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