Local Houston rapper, Michael Francis, died Friday afternoon (Jan. 4) in the recording studio he co-owned, after suffering an accidental gunshot wound to the head.

According to the Houston Chronicle, police discovered the 32-year-old rapper dead from an accidental gunshot to the head Friday at 4 p.m., after responding to reports of a shooting at Fam Tide Records.

While investigators continue to interview friends and co-workers of Francis, who rapped under the name Arcani Crosswords, information collected thus far indicate he accidentally shot himself while playing with the gun, Sgt. Robert Blain of HPD's homicide division said.

"He was just messing around is what we're being told," Blain said.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but we understand he had the gun in his hand and somehow it just went off," Francis' 25-year-old brother Mark said.

Francis' past includes several brushes with the law, resulting in jail time served for misdemeanor charges including possession of marijuana, driving on a suspended license and evading arrest. However, friends and family members say he had left those problems in the past, and only carried a gun for protection.

"When you come from a certain environment you need that," Mark Francis said. "It's just a fact of life."

For Francis, who co-owned and operated the Fam Tide studios, rap served as an outlet.

"He rapped about just what life brings: the good, the bad and the ugly," Mark Francis said.

As recording engineer at Fam Tide, Francis also worked to steer kids away from the streets and into the studio.

"He influenced them to concentrate on their artistic passions," Francis added.

Also an amateur painter, Francis hoped to one day establish an art gallery to display work from incarcerated artists.