What Happened to Honey D and Why?

On February 22, 2023, a series of shootings by one alleged shooter, Keith Melvin Moses, left three people dead in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Orlando. Police and news reports have named the first murder victim, 38-year-old Natacha Augustin, but around here she was known as Honey D. She was a rapper and a big personality in the city.

“She hit me up on some music type shit,” recalls Orlando comedian, rapper, and podcaster Derrius Boston of how they first met back in 2010. “I had a big show. I was performing for OJ the Juice Man. And she came and kicked it with me and we've been cool ever since.”

Derrius, also known as D-Rugg, and his friends had a studio, OME Studios, and Honey D was a regular there. “She was a studio rat, you know. She used to always get in the studio with us.”

In the music industry – in case that’s not your world – a studio rat is someone who is so passionate about music that they build their lifestyle around the studio. It goes beyond recording frequently. A studio is a community center for those who choose music as a primary form of expression. Studio life involves constant growth and learning: the technology alone is something to reckon with, and the tech at OME was solid.

“Lee Nicky. We was at his mom's crib. His mom, you know, she been watch, she been knowing us since we was kids, so she invested in getting the studio. She turned the garage into a studio. It was a real deal, you know what I'm saying? We had the spot,” said Derrius. “We had everything. Pro Tools, Mac, Avalon, like we had everything top. We had a Newman microphone. Whatever was out during that time. Moms went and got all that shit for us.”

Immersed with producers, engineers, music artists, and the interested friends who came around, late nights in the studio making music was life as Honey D lived it.

Derrius and Honey D recorded songs together, two of which are still streaming. Lady Mohawk and I Ain’t Hatin’ Hoe. Lady Mohawk is a love song with verses about affection and dedication from both artists. I Ain’t Hatin’ Hoe is an anthem for those who have moved on from a relationship and are so satisfied with their present circumstances that they have no reason to think negative thoughts about an ex.

Late-night performances were part of the life, too.

“It used to be a little spot downtown called 57 West. They used to have like the little open mic things and they would throw showcases and shit like that. … That was like one of the spots where you go, you know, flex your shit at. But he had threw one and me and Honey D had just dropped that song. So, you know, we just, anywhere we go, we performing that motherfucker anywhere. We, if we going in the club, shit, we getting the DJ to play that bitch,” said Derrius.

Time moved on. They both kept making music. Derrius stayed in regular contact with Honey D. They continued their friendship until she died, keeping each other up to date on their lives. The last Derrius knew, Honey D had an Only Fans account to generate income.    

He had no insight into her death and didn’t know if the gossip on the street that Honey D was biologically related to another of Keith Moses’ shooting victims, 9-year-old T’yonna Major, was true. He didn’t know why Honey D was on Hastings Street in an acquaintance’s car the morning of February 22, 2023.

Another rapper who recorded with Honey D in years past posted on Facebook:

In 2016, Lingo Jones and Honey D agreed to make a song together and planned to meet at TGB Studios.

By the time he arrived at the studio, she was almost done recording her verse. She had been the one to bring the beats, too. If music production isn’t your thing, the beats are the music that artists rap to. Typically rappers get beats a few different ways: they find them on YouTube where they snag them for free, they find them in a beats database where they lease or buy them, they receive beats from producers hoping that the rapper will take a liking to one and use it for a song, or they have beats custom created for them. Some rappers make their own beats, which is impressive given that beatmaking and rapping both demand a lot of skill, and the skill sets are different. 

Lingo doesn’t remember the source of these beats, but the song is pretty lit. You get a sense of Honey D’s vibe when you listen and read the lyrics:

“What surprised me was her voice, you know what I'm saying? Like, she had a strong voice for a woman. I loved her delivery and the song and her energy,” he remembered.

They met up more than once and ran in the same circles for a while.

“We got with DJ Play and we all met up and he took … us to Ocala. We went to a club called Platform and we all hung out. That was my second time like hanging out with all of them. I was in the DJ booth with DJ Play for a little bit. We all took pictures. Everybody had their own promo stuff. He was promoting Chevy Music. I forgot which volume on it was, but I know for sure he was promoting Chevy Music and all of us slid out there,” Lingo recalled. “It was the first Friday. Cuz they only did Platform every first Friday. I don't know if they still do it, but this was like 2016, I wanna say. And like I said, we all hung out, had a good time, and it was chill. Everybody was treated like celebrities.”

What stood out about Honey D, said Lingo, was her size. “She had a boss mentality, especially for someone with a tiny frame.”