Mourners joined the family of Lionel “Chinx” Pickens this morning, to say goodbye to the famed rapper who was murdered in a drive-by shooting earlier this month. Family, friends, and fans gathered in front of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York as early as 7 a.m. for the wake and funeral for Chinx.

A large group of police officers were present at the funeral, joined by members of several groups working on mitigating gun violence in Queens, including the King of Kings Foundation and the South Jamaica Cure Violence Program.

Pictures showing Pickens during concerts and with his family flashed on cathedral screens as hundreds of fans, many of them wearing T-shirts dedicated to the performer, passed by his brown casket with a silk-draped white interior and white roses on top. You will also see wife, Janelli Caceres-Pickens, also wearing a white T-shirt reading “SIP Baby Chinx.”

Family members portrayed Pickens, a father of three, as an ambitious and warm-hearted family man, as well as a “jokester” with a passion for music who wanted a better life for his kids. “Lionel had a gift for making people laugh and smile with his sense of humor,” the family wrote in his obituary, which was read during the ceremony. “At 15 years old, he knew music was a love that he wanted to pursue,” the obiturary read.

Doug Ellison, Chinx’s manager, shares that he will always be there for Chinx’s family. “His goal and his intention was to leave a mark. And he’s done that,” he said.

Pickens’s cousin, Norman Seabrook, spoke out against the gun violence. “We must do better than this,” he said. “People have to learn to respect each other. If one person takes the life of another, they both end up dead because that other person goes to jail for the rest of their life.” Laury Ann Joseph, a friend who grew up with Pickens in Far Rockaway. “I wanted to support the family; we are here for them,” she said.

Chinx was shot and killed after he stopped his silver Porsche at a red light on Queens Boulevard and 84th Drive in Briarwood at about 4 a.m. after performing in Brooklyn earlier that night. He was shot multiple times from another car that pulled up alongside his vehicle, according to police. No arrests had been made as of this morning and a motive for the crime remains unclear.

Photos of the funeral are available on the next page.