Rapper Gonzoe, Friend of Tupac is Dead at 45

Gonzoe the rapper -- a friend of Tupac and Ice Cube -- has been murdered.

Police say Gonzoe was shot 3 times in the chest near a gas station in Seattle, Washington. The gunman is still at large and cops are on the hunt.

The 45-year-old rapper -- real name Ronald Moore -- was from Los Angeles. He was a member of the Outlawz and got his nickname from Tupac himself. His albums include "If I Live & Nothing Happens," and he contributed on "Kuruption" and "Godzilla."

After Gonzoe was shot he ran to a Shell gas station that was close by and then collapsed. He was rushed to a hospital where he died overnight.

It appears he was shot while driving ... cops found a vehicle riddled with bullets in the area.

Gonzoe was a member of Kausion ... a '90s group supported by Ice Cube. The group's album, "South Central Los Skanless," rose to #37 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Rapper C-Bo paid his respects to Gonzoe on social media, posting a throwback video of the two of them out together

Gonzoe was reportedly "working on numerous business deals after the high-profile fight with Boskoe, with whom he started a boxing league with after squashing their beef," All Hip Hop explained.

Gonzoe had started a boxing league with fellow-rapper Boskoe100. The 2 of them got in the ring and fought it out to a draw back in April.

Gonzoe was 45.