APRIL 10, 2006 - Haitian rapper Black Alex was shot several times last week in Petionville, Haiti, after unknown assailants robbed him of a diamond-encrusted necklace and pendant that sources said was given to him by associate Wyclef Jean.

Black Alex (Photo/AllHipHop.com)

Sources told AllHipHop.com that Black Alex was leaving a concert that was part of a soccer game in the suburb of Port-au-Prince on April 2, when he was robbed at gunpoint for the chain, worth an estimated $20,000.

The robbers shot him four times and also took an unknown amount of money. Paramedics rushed the rapper to a Port-au-Prince hospital in critical condition.

Black Alex, born James Pierre Alexis, rose to popularity in Haiti with the group King Posse. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and according to published reports, 75 percent of the people live below the poverty level set by the World Bank.

The country was originally inhabited by Arawak and Taino tribes until the 15th century, when Spanish landed on the island around 1492. The original population was enslaved and ravaged by disease and quickly died out.

The island was then colonized by the Spanish and the French, who brought African slave labor to Haiti and the Caribbean for sugar production. In 1791, The Haitian Revolution started as a slave uprising and led to the establishment of the black nation of Haiti in 1801.

In 2004, tropical storm Jeanne hit the island, killing over 3,000 people and leaving an estimated 350,000 people homeless. The country's former leader, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was ousted in the middle of the storm.

Various rappers, including Wyclef Jean and Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond have donated time and money to various causes to help the impoverished island.

"Black Alex was very instrumental in our efforts of bringing awareness to the Haitian cause in and out of Haiti," Rosemond told AllHipHop.com.

Sources also told AllHipHop.com that Wyclef flew to Haiti and had Black Alex airlifted to Cuba, where the rapper could receive better medical treatment for the gunshot wounds, one of which lied just two inches from his heart.

Black Alex is in critical condition but he is expected to recover from his wounds.