Hip-hop star French Montana has paid tribute to his friend and fellow rapper Chinx Drugz after he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Queens, New York in the early hours of Sunday (17May15).

The 31 year old, real name Lionel Pickens, was fatally wounded after he was hit while sitting in a parked car. Another man, who was in the passenger seat, is in a critical condition in a nearby hospital.

Meek Mill was among the first people in the hip-hop community to condemn the killing in a series of angry posts, and now Montana, who recruited Pickens as a member of his Coke Boys group, has expressed his sadness in a post on Instagram.com.

He shared video footage of Jay Z honoring Pickens' memory at a concert in New York on Sunday night (17May15) and captioned it, "The devil comes in all shapes and sizes and he's ruthless. Life here is temporary. They will kill you for this lifestyle, if they can't afford it jealousy is a motherf**ker...

"Protect yourself, protect the people you love. I'm sad to see my brother go out like this, one of the realest people I met. This s**t's not right. These streets don't love us My prayers go to his kids and family. We going to finish off what we started #ripchinx".

Drake has also added his thoughts on the tragedy, writing on social media, "Rest in peace Chinx. All my prayers to French. Hard to see one of the good guys go. Condolences to all friends and family."

Meanwhile, Mill has since shared a tribute song he recorded with Travis Scott and Strap, titled Miss My Dawgs, which is dedicated to Pickens and another fallen rapper called Lil Snupe, who was killed in 2013.

Police are currently investigating Sunday's incident, but have yet to make any arrests.