Race Street, Philadelphia: Rumours that have been circling the streets of Philadelphia the past few days can now be confirmed by the local reporter for the Philadelphia Chronicle. Renowned singer, record producer, stage actor and philanthropist, Alexander Knight aka The Troubadour is no more.

Alexander Knight, raised in an orphanage in Arizona, began his career working as a bartender-cum-entertainer in a Los Angeles bar at the age of 18. With the support of his employer, former Los Angeles Crime boss known simply by the alias Hope, Alexander steadily spread his influence across numerous clubs on the West coast. 

Having cultivated a notorious fanbase, Alexander moved to Detroit after a mass shooting at his former place of employment which resulted in the death of Hope. It was here that he transitioned from a part-time entertainer to an opening act developing contacts that sponsored his performances in Seattle, Las Vegas and Chicago, but like the troubadours of old, he never put down roots.

Most people would have assumed that a man with his level of infamy would return to Los Angeles and get involved in the film business, but instead, he did the opposite and moved to New York in hopes of becoming a stage actor. Stories emerged of his promiscuous ways and the alleged support he received from the now deceased mobster Antonio Maldonado. Never afraid to capitalize on a controversy, Alexander found a way to use the attention he received for a starring role in a Broadway musical. Critics were surprised by his performance and predicted a long future ahead for the young man of 19.

However the wanderlust gripped him again, and young Alexander soon bid adieu to New York. Having met a Philadelphia based entrepreneur, Tara Byrne at a Broadway afterparty, Alexander approached the woman with a business proposal and the two of them established the now infamous Troubadour's Records.

The record label though originally a small project to release his own music, turned into something much bigger. Alexander's fellow business owner here at Race Street, William Bowden had this to say: 

"Alexander was a fine entrepreneur and a man of integrity and honour. You hear rumours about people in the music industry, but when you really got to know him he was an upstanding gentleman. The sort to keep his word and take care of the folks that mattered. He came to Philadelphia and started a music industry here that no one thought would pan out, but by his own blood, sweat, and tears he made it happen using nothing more than his own hard work and talents. Especially in hard times like these, that's the sort of person we ought to treasure. Now more than ever we can look to his music and his voice to provide inspiration."

Alexander's debut and only album, Emergence was the first non-NOMA affiliated album to receive a gold certification by the East American Recording Industry. With the unprecedented success of his album, came expansion and mainstream attention. Joe Adonis, founder of the luxurious Midas Air Company, who adopted music from Emergence to be played in his flights had this to say to the Chronicle:

"As a musician, the guy was a God. Music connects people to themselves, their true selves. Alexander Knight sung like an Angel playing a harp. It's a tragedy and a real shame this man has been taken from us. But at least his soul will live on in his music. I will miss you, pal. May your voice join the choir in heaven and forever enlighten us from beyond the veil."

Although a successful musician, Alexander Knight was a shrewd businessman with his fair share of competition and legal troubles. His long history of lawsuits brought forth by the New Orleans Music Association(NOMA) is well documented as is his business rivalry with local controversial businessman Charlie Pavanno who said the following to our reporter:

"What can I say? The Troubadour, a man of much desire by many women and a man of hate by many men. I can honestly say that he was one of the greatest people that I had the pleasure of talking to, even if our views and business ideas tended to clash, never really seeing eye to eye, I knew that he was a man worth working with or for. It's a sad day for the music industry and the world in general, they lost a legend, they lost the walking talking bastard of a singer, a Knight in every sense of the word. He may have been a bastard, but I will never forget the impact he made, rest well, my rival. "

Although rumours of his alleged involvement with the mafia were never too far from him Alexander Knight never lost the adoration of the people, helped in part by his charming personality as well as his generous philanthropic work. Dr Ilaria Santoro of the St Frances Xavier Hospital which includes the Alexander Knight Ambulatory Care Center made the official declaration of death later last evening.

"It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that the search for Alexander Knight has been concluded by authorities. Many attempts to locate Mr. Knight or his remains have come up fruitless, and therefore it has fallen to me to declare that he is no longer missing, but presumed dead. As his physician and a member of the State Board of Medical Examiners, I have signed the death certificate under the authority of the Philadelphia Bureau of Investigations."

The official declaration though seemingly absolute has not quelled the rise of theories related to Alexander's disappearance. While some claim his ties with the criminal world cost him dearly in the recent national gang war that ravaged seven major cities, others are of the opinion that he is simply in hiding to escape a looming prison sentence that had been proposed for his mafia ties after Philadelphia governor and former FBN chief, Thomas Wellington began his heavy crackdown against organized crime. 

Though the authorities have concluded their research, officials in NOMA who allegedly lobbied the Governor to bring a questionable lawsuit against a controversial, yet beloved Philadelphia musician, have reportedly hired private detectives to find him dead or alive and bring him to justice. The fans though unsupportive of NOMA's reasoning, have begun their own search. But regardless of motivations, one thing is for certain, for the general public, the matter of Alexander Knight's death at the tender age of 21, is far from over.