Late Friday morning the wake for young rapper Joseph Russell-Coleman aka Lil' JoJo was held at the Jones Funeral Home on 79th and Kedzie in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago. Hundreds of mourners came to show their "respects" to Lil' JoJo and his family members by showing up in clothing just as loud as they were and almost toppling Lil' JoJo's casket and some of his family members along with it trying to view the body. The ones who did not or could not get in however, chose to smoke weed outside in the parking lot.
Robin Russell, Lil' JoJo's mother, had to go so far as to scream into the microphone "Get the f*ck out!" in order to get the crowd to rest. Minutes later, Chicago police cleared the funeral home as helicopters hovered overhead and several squad cars patrolled the streets. The young men and women, then turned the wake into a parking lot dance party as they played Lil' JoJo's first single, "3HunnaK" and sang and danced to the very lyrics that could have possibly gotten the young boy murdered in the first place.
I see it all and everything as very misguided and disrespectful. I bet not one of those children there that day even took a second to recognize the fragile mortality that is life. Most are probably just looking for revenge in stead of forgiveness. I bet a couple even showed up to check out the "shorties" maybe checking to see if Lil' JoJo left a girlfriend behind or something(SMMFH).
I know they say that every generation looks down on the next generation and wonders where this world will be going and what is coming of it with the way that they act but I can honestly say, it has to be getting worse and worse. Yes when I was younger I did some very ratchet things, but when it came down to the principals and the fundamentals that most Black people stand for as their standard of respect, I didn't touch it. You now have young people cursing out the wise and elderly; hell even Bloods and Crips would put the colors down for a moment to show respect to a funeral. This is just beyond excuse and understanding and I fear that this little boy will have died in vain because no one is seeing the bigger message here.
Lil jojo had some real raw talen and I loved him because of the simple fact that he kept it 100 and despite the consequences he might have faced later on, he still did what he said he was gone do. My only problem is the fact that he let certain things that were stupid-get to him and he followed it up which in the end caused us to lose a talent young lil brother who would have made a significant differnce for the young generation of hip hop and hardcore rap music. I just hope we take this as a lesson learned and allow CHIEF JOJO TO R.I.P. and not die in vain. quote:" WARS COME AND GO, BUT MY SOLDIERS STAY ETERNAL!!!-TUPAC SHAKUR
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