Joseph J. Coleman (April 6, 1994 – September 4, 2012), known professionally as Lil JoJo, was an American rapper and gangster from Chicago, Illinois, who garnered distinction in Chicago's early drill music scene. He was affiliated with a faction of the Gangster Disciples that is a rival of factions of the Black Disciples. He rose to prominence in the local drill scene with his single 3HunnaK and its accompanying music video, which was a diss song to rival members that exacerbated already hostile intergang disputes. Amidst that time period of escalating feuding and heightening tension, Coleman was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago at the age of 18.
Coleman's death was highly publicized, and the circumstances surrounding his murder are remembered by Chicago residents as a landmark instance of the city's intensifying gang violence problem. To date, law enforcement has not made any arrests in connection to the event and the case remains open.[1]
Early life
Coleman was born in Chicago, Illinois as Joseph Coleman[1] on April 6, 1994, to his mother Robin Wilson. His father's identity has not been disclosed publicly. Joseph Coleman was raised by his mother after his father was sentenced to 13 years in prison for attempted murder.[2] Coleman grew up at 69th and Parnell Avenue.[3] His older brother is rapper Swagg Dinero.[4]
At some point, Coleman was initiated into a set of the local Gangster Disciples gang. His membership has been confirmed by Chicago law enforcement.[5]
Rap career
Coleman's rap music was primarily of the drill music variety that at the time was gaining a newfound popularity amongst Chicago locals. According to his brother, Swagg Dinero, in an interview on VladTV with DJ Vlad, Coleman started rapping and releasing music to the public after a rapper who is a known opposition to the Gangster Disciples, Lil Reese, released a song in which the Gangster Disciples were mocked and threatened. This song would gain traction not just among the locals of the Chicago area and the surrounding areas, but nationwide due to the heavy publicity and radio play the single had. According to his brother, Coleman was in his vehicle as he heard the song on the local radio station WKSC-FM in which he then told Swagg Dinero "you hear this shit?" and had an epiphany that he himself should make a rap song dissing Lil Reese and the Black Disciples.[6] Coleman's music started gaining more widespread attention after posting the music video song titled "3HunnaK" on August 31, 2012. The title of the song is exemplary of the gang rivalry that he was entrenched in at the time. The '3Hunna' portion of the title refers to Chief Keef's song 3Hunna and the 'K' letter of the title stands for 'killer'. The song's alternate title is BDK which is a lyrical focal point of the song's chorus, which repeatedly reiterates
"These niggas claim 300, but we BDK"
BDK is an acronym that stands for 'Black Disciple Killer', which expresses the oppositional stance against rival members of the Black Disciples gang, of which Chief Keef is a prominent member. The music video for the song is noted for its extreme shock value, depicting teenage Coleman and his entourage with guns poised in an intimidating fashion. Garry McCarthy, the Chief of Police of the Chicago Police Department, at the time reported that the reciprocated diss songs between rivals exacerbates conflict:
"That's all part of the problem, they go back and forth. Tit for tat. On social media and in these raps [Coleman] does he's talking about violence and really taunting people."
The rap feud between Coleman's clique and Chief Keef clique, had sparked concerns about the condition of Chicago's rap scene and the blurring of the lines dividing musical entertainment from authentic gang adversarialism.[7] During this feud, a sector of the Gangster Disciples was established called Bricksquad, also known as Bricksquad 069,[8] in which Coleman was the leader of the sector.[9]
Death
Coleman was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago on September 4, 2012, not soon after posting the music video for his song 3HunnaK to YouTube.
In the days prior to the shooting, extensive vitriol was exchanged via social media, particularly Twitter, between Coleman's camp and rival members of other sets. Among this exchange were insults from Coleman directed towards Chief Keef's camp.[10][11]
Drive-by shooting
On the day of the shooting, Coleman and his clique traveled via car to Parkway Garden Homes, a low-income residential building complex near to where the rapper Chief Keef lived. En route passing by the area, Coleman and his companions recorded themselves taunting Chief Keef's clique in a contentious quarrel.[5] Speaking from the car, Coleman and the other passengers traded derisive remarks with rapper Lil Reese and his companions who were outside and near his house at the time. The exchange concludes with Lil Reese retorting "Jo, I'ma kill you".[12]
Later that day, in the area of Englewood,[13] at 6:13pm, Coleman shared on his Twitter account that he was on the 6900 block of South Princeton Avenue on the Chicago's South Side. Police reports state that at approximately 7:30pm, shots were fired out of the front driver seat of a sedan vehicle at Coleman on 70th and Princeton Ave as the vehicle was driving eastbound on 70th Street, west of Princeton Avenue. Video surveillance footage from a private residence captured the onset and endings of the event. Coleman is seen on video riding on the pegs of a friend's bicycle. Upon the attack, he attempted to flee northbound on Princeton Avenue, but collapsed on the sidewalk. The unidentified bicycle rider companion of Coleman is seen running in the opposite direction of the shooting on the camera footage. Coleman was transported to University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Six 9mm shell cartridges were found at the crime scene.[4][5][14][3]
Investigations
In the slight immediate aftermath of the shooting there was no arrests made for the death of Coleman.[15] Subsequent investigations by the Chicago Police Department found no leads or viable persons of interest in the murder of Coleman. Initially, the Chicago Police Department stated that there was a chance that Chief Keef, Lil Reese, or Lil Durk were involved.[16] Police logged into Chief Keef's Twitter account but found no evidence warranting an arrest.[17] Notably, a few hours after the incident, Chief Keef tweeted
"Hahahahahahaha… It's sad cuz ... JoJo wanted to be jus like us #LMAO,"
This tweet sparked controversy. However, Chief Keef later backpedaled this statement claiming that his Twitter account had been hacked.[18] Coleman's mother expressed suspicions that Chief Keef's clique may have been involved in the shooting. In a 2012 BET TV interview during the show "Don't Sleep" hosted by T. J. Holmes, she purported that Chief Keef possibly hired a hitman to kill her son. She also expressed her disbelief in Chief Keef's claim that his account was hacked when the tweet mocking the death of Coleman was made and that she feared she would've been killed herself.[19][20] Chief Keef has firmly denied any involvement with the murder of Coleman and has continually reiterated his remorse for Coleman and his family.[21] He tweeted after the news coverage of Coleman's murder grew:
Man, been thinkin bout this chicago street shit a lot.My prayers go out 2 Jojo's family on their loss.
i didn't know him but he young jus like me. i can assure everyone that i had nothin 2 do with this tragedy tho. my twitter acct was hacked.
Rappers such as 50 Cent and Waka Flocka Flame made comments discouraging scapegoating Chief Keef for the murder. Waka Flocka Flame suggested that Chief Keef was being "vilified".[22][23] Chicago police have hypothesized that Keith "Keke" Bonds was Coleman's murderer. Bonds was a 26-year-old member of the Black Disciples who was fatally shot on September 17, 2012, near a tree on the west side of Normal Boulevard, a territorial area of the Black Disciples.[24][25] In 2013, Coleman's older brother claimed that Coleman's killer was dead, tweeting
"Even da opps know da mf who took my bro aint walkin dis earth nomore"[4]
In 2022, Chief Keef was involved in an online confrontation with another Chicago rapper, Lupe Fiasco, which came after Chief Keef posted mocking tweets of Coleman, which local authorities subsequently investigated as evidence of his involvement in Coleman's death.[26]
Funeral
Joseph Coleman’s funeral was held in the Southwest Side funeral home. Police had to arrive due to a group of teens at the funeral disturbing the event. One of the teens reportedly yelled "get the fuck out.”[27] A group of teens surrounded and almost toppled the casket with Coleman's body in it during the funeral procession causing distress.[28] Gunfire rang outside of the funeral home and near the area, though it is unclear if the shots were fired to scare the funeral attendees or in remembrance of Coleman. After this incident, police were dispatched to the Morgan Park area and surrounding areas.[29]
A few months after the death of Coleman, a teenager by the name of Joshua Davis also known by his alias, JayLoud, was murdered for allegedly wearing a hoodie in commemoration of Coleman using his rapper name, Lil JoJo, on 2000 block of West 69th Street at 11:30pm in west Englewood, Chicago which is considered Gangster Disciple territory.[31] The hoodie that Davis wore said the words "JoJo World" which is a commemoration of the death of Coleman using his rapper name, gangs normally name streets after dead affiliates with the prefix "world" after them.[32] Davis was taken to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois where, an hour later, Davis was pronounced dead due to the gunshot wound.[33] This and the death of Coleman showed a rise in the escalation of the feud between the Black Disciples and the Gangster Disciples in Chicago.[34]
After his death, there were debates on how the rap and drill scene affected the youth, not just in Chicago but nationally, with the music normally having violent and antagonizing lyrics.[35] There were also debates on how social media heavily affected the situation with the current gang wars and feuds that were happening before, during, and after the death of Coleman.[36]
In 2013, a Chicago documentary-style play named "Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology" used the death of Coleman in the play in which Scott Baity Jr. played Coleman, the play highlighted crimes against the African-American population in Chicago. The play also had the tweets of Coleman before his death and played and showed them on a large screen behind the actors during the scene in which they reenacted the death of Coleman.[37]
Discography
List of Coleman's music that was released before and after death sorted by the date every song was released.
