Hoodlum, which Goines had finished before his death, was published posthumously in 1975. Set in Los Angeles, the novel was about heroin, money and murder. Death On October 21, 1974 Goines and his common-law wife Shirley Sailor were discovered dead in their Highland Park, Michigan apartment. The police had received an anonymous phone call earlier that evening and responded, discovering Goines in the living room of the apartment and Sailor's body in the kitchen. Both Goines and Sailor had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and head. The identity of the two gunmen is unknown, as is the reason behind the murders. Popular theories involve Goines being murdered due to his basing several of his characters on real life criminals as well as the theory that Goines was killed due to his being in debt over drugs. At his funeral, a relative placed a book with Goines in his casket, but it was stolen. Novels Kenyatta series Crime Partners (1974) [as Al C. Clark] Death List (1974) [as Al C. Clark] Kenyatta's Escape (1974) [as Al C. Clark] Kenyatta's Last Hit (1975) [as Al C. Clark] Stand alone novels Dopefiend (1971) Whoreson (1972) Black Gangster (1972) Street Players (1973) White Man's Justice, Black Man's Grief (1973) Black Girl Lost (1974) Eldorado Red (1974) Swamp Man (1974) Never Die Alone (1974) Cry Revenge (1974) [as Al C. Clark] Daddy Cool (1974) Inner City Hoodlum (1975) Influence Goines's writing has had an impact upon several people, with several rappers inserting mentions of Goines and his writing into their lyrics. In his 1996 song Tradin' War Stories, rapper 2Pac writes "Machiavelli was my tutor, Donald Goines my father figure". On the Real Brothas album by hip-hop duo B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta, the second one mentioned the author by rapping "take a good look because you're looking at a crook/my life done been took, right outta Donald Goines' book". Ludacris mentions Goines in his 2006 song "Eyebrows Down". AZ compares himself to Donald Goines' work in "Rather Unique", with the line, "Your mind's boggled but I'm as deep as Donald Goines' novels". Nas also named the song "Black Girl Lost" on his sophomore album It Was Written after the book by Goines. The New York rap trio Cru had a song called "Goines Tale" where all of Donald's book titles were incorporated into the song's lyrics. Rapper Jadakiss also references Goines in