Houston rapper Sauce Walka is grappling with mixed emotions after narrowly escaping a deadly shooting in Memphis on Saturday that claimed the life of his friend and artist Sayso P.

Sauce's attorney, Carl A. Moore, tells TMZ ... the rapper is mourning the loss of his friend but is grateful to be alive.

We're told the "Check Please" rapper has been released from the hospital after being treated for gunshot wounds to the leg ... and is on a "long road to recovery" but "is gaining strength daily."

His attorney goes on to tell us that Sauce is "back on his feet and walking around." Sauce is assuring his fans he will be A-Okay, after posting a video of him using crutches on his Instagram.

TMZ broke the story ... Sauce and Sayso P were confronted by gunmen outside a hotel near the FedExForum in Memphis, and police believe Sayso was the intended target.

Surveillance video shows a white 4-door sedan pulling up near a black SUV ... three men jump out, with two of them surrounding the SUV to gun down Sayso. The suspects then quickly flee the scene.

The shooters have not yet been publicly identified.