| Lil JoJo | |
| Birth Name: | Joseph J. Coleman |
| Birth Date: | 6 April 1994 |
| Death Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Cause: | Drive-by shooting |
| Occupation: | Rapper |
| Years Active: | 2010–2012 |
| Organization: | Gangster Disciples |
| Mother: | Robin Wilson |
Joseph J. Coleman (April 6, 1994 – September 4, 2012), known professionally as Lil Jojo, was an American gangsta rapper/drill rapper from Chicago, Illinois and a rival to the Black Disciples and the part of Chicago with the most Black Disciples influence being Parkway Garden Homes popularly known as O-Block.[1]
Coleman was born in Chicago, Illinois as Joseph Coleman on April 6, 1994, to his mother Robin Wilson. His father's identity has not been disclosed publicly. He was raised by his mother after his father was sentenced to 13 years in prison for attempted murder.[2]
Coleman started gaining fame after posting his song entitled "3HunnaK", the K standing for killer and the title being a reference to Chief Keef's song 3Hunna, which the song created by Coleman included mentions of BDK which stands for Black Disciple Killer. According to police, Coleman was a member of the rival gang Gangster Disciples.[3]
This feud between both Lil JoJo and Chief Keef has led to a large debate and divide on how the rap genre and game should be in the Chicago area of Illinois. This includes the divide in records that produce and disseminate the music which included Def Jam records.[4]
Coleman had received many threats for his avid hate towards famous rappers of the Black Disciples gang in Chicago, with Coleman uploading videos onto YouTube and making several tweets on Twitter about the matter which included the insulting of many big rappers including Chief Keef, Lil Reese, and Lil Durk.[5] The insulting, popularly known as dissing, caused a major conflict not only among individuals like Coleman and rappers of the Black Disciples, but also caused spark in a gang war in the south-side area of Chicago where many of these street gangs operate.[6]
On September 4, 2012, Coleman and his friends went to Parkway Garden Homes, closer to where the rapper Chief Keef lives as he recorded him and his friends insulting Chief Keef and Lil Reese, this included Coleman and his friends going near Chief Keef and his friend Lil Reese and recording themselves insulting him and Chief Keef, in the video, Lil Reese can be seen coming around the corner of a building and yelling "Jo, I'ma kill you".[7] It wasn't until the evening of the day, on 7:30 PM that Coleman would post a Twitter post (Now X) that he was on 6900 block of South Princeton Avenue on the city's South Side where then, a tan Ford Taurus pulled up to Coleman and shot him fatally in a drive-by shooting.[8] The Chicago Police Department stated that there was a probability that Chief Keef, Lil Reese, or Lil Durk may had involvement in the shooting that occurred.[9] Though, after the shooting occurred, there was no immediate arrests or charges that took place though the police did log into Chief Keef's Twitter account but found no arrest-able evidence.[10]
A few hours after the incident, Chief Keef tweeted "Hahahahahahaha… It’s sad cuz ... JoJo wanted to be jus like us #LMAO," which sparked controversy, though, after a bit Chief Keef tweeted again stating that his Twitter account had been hacked.[11] He also then tweeted "#300" in reference to the Black Disciples which was also tweeted hours after Coleman's death.[12] Though in the aftermath of the tweets, rappers like Waka Flocka Flame defended Chief Keef by stating that the rapper Chief Keef was being "vilified" and being labeled.[13]
Not too long after the death of Coleman, a funeral was set for Coleman in the Southwest Side funeral home which had to be cleared out and secured by police officers of the Chicago Police Department.[14] The police had to arrive due to a group of teens going into the funeral area and yelling obscenities and overall disturbing the peace with one teen yelling "Get the fuck out" as a crew of teens surrounded and almost toppled the casket with Coleman's body in it.[15]
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, supposedly, wearing a hoodie in commemoration of Coleman using his rapper name, Lil JoJo, on 2000 block of West 69th Street at 11:30 PM in west Englewood, Chicago.[16] The hoodie that David one said the words "JoJo World".[17] Davis was taken to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois where, an hour later, Davis was pronounced dead.[18] 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.[19]
In 2012, the mother of Coleman has stated in an interview with BET TV during its programing "Don't Sleep" hosted by T. J. Holmes that Chief Keef possibly hired a hitman in order to kill Coleman and that she doesn't believe that Chief Keef is innocent or that his account was hacked when the tweet mocking the death of Coleman was made and that she feared she would've been killed,[20] [21] though Chief Keef denies any involvement with the murder of Coleman.[22]
In 2022, Chief Keef started getting involved in an online confrontation with another Chicago rapper called Lupe Fiasco which came after Chief Keef made mocking tweets of Coleman which subsequently caused local authorities to investigate these tweets as evidence of his involvement in Coleman's death.[23]
In 2013 a Chicago play named "Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology" used the death of Coleman in the play in which Scott Baity Jr. played Coleman.[24]