Local musician’s ‘laid back, old soul’ inspired Macon nightlife before drowning

From starring on “Judge Jerry” to mixing old school artists like Al Green and Tupac, a man who died July 15 while trying to save two children was cherished in Macon nightlife.

Johnny “Yung” Collins III drowned while trying to save his girlfriend’s two daughters, who also drowned Tuesday in the Ocmulgee River at Amerson River Park.

The 28-year-old loved the water, but didn’t know how to swim, according to his friends. “He was a hero” and dove in anyway, said Shannon “Shagg Colie” Howard, 41, who produced music with Collins for eight years and spent most nights engineering songs together.

“You couldn’t really get him in a kiddie pool,” Howard said.

Howard, who is part of the rap group Camp Dark, and other loved ones vibed to mixes of Collins’ music during his celebration of life Thursday night at The Daisy Tequila and Margarita Bar downtown, where Collins used to be a DJ. He also used to DJ at Sparks Sports Bar on Mercer University Drive.

Collins was part of a local rap group called SVO, or Smooth Vibes Only.

The Harbor Freight employee by day and musician by night was a “wise, laid back and old soul” for a 28-year-old – younger than most of his friends, Howard said.

“He’d be like, ‘We’re gonna go where my uncle’s at, sitting on the tree playing chess,’” Howard said. “He’s gonna go over there and sit and just watch, while everybody else wants to go jump on the trampoline.”

Howard recalled a night when Collins spun a Tupac track, then nonchalantly blended in some smooth Al Green.

“I’m talking on the mic like, ‘Where are we going? What am I supposed to say next? Like how do we go from Tupac to Al Green? Help me out man,’” Howard said, laughing. “But it’ll all make sense.”

He was praised for his ability to bring all kinds of people together, according to Antonio Phillips, or DJ AP Productions, who has worked with Collins as well as R&B artists including Juiicy 2xs, GloRilla, Jagged Edge and Eric Bellinger.

“Watching his music selection, you know everybody can’t rock the same crowd, but I’ve seen his drive to learn,” Phillips said. “He was going to go far.”

Adam McDuffie Jr. – or LA, short for Little Adam – is the manager of Daisy, and was Collins’ roommate on Second Street. They grew up together like brothers, McDuffie said.

“You ever watch the show ‘Phineas and Ferb’? That’s how me and him were,” McDuffie said. “Everyday we were like, ‘What are we gonna do today bro?’”

Their spontaneity and passion for entertainment got them featured in a skit on Jerry Springer’s reality TV show, “Judge Jerry” in New York.

“You would take videos of (McDuffie’s) rap, of his singing?” Springer asked Collins in a courtroom on the show.

“We did several shows in different cities …,” Collins responded from behind a lectern. “The more content that I created for him, the greater the lights became.”

That was just the beginning of their wild adventures, McDuffie recalled. Collins taught him to take music seriously.

“From there we were going all over the south, all over the east coast,” the 25-year-old said. “I wish I could have took him out to the west coast with me, that was our next one, to go to (California).”

When they weren’t making music, Amerson River Park was their stomping ground.

“We enjoyed the atmosphere, just taking it all in because there’s not too many spots where you can see that type of beauty in Macon,” McDuffie said. “What I’ve had to accept is the water just gives and takes life.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 7:53 AM.