BROTHERS’ MIXED MESSAGES
Victim’s twin rapped about gangs
While downtown Windsor homicide victim Jason Pantlitz-Solomon was studying criminology at the University of Windsor, his twin brother was rapping about gangs in Mississauga.
“Only love my gang,” sang Jerome Solomon, who raps under the name J Solo, in one of his music videos on YouTube. “If I don’t stick up, you can still catch the knife.” Throughout his music videos, uploaded over the past two years, J Solo makes hand signs and declares his allegiance to “ACG” and “YCG” — references to Acorn Place (“The Con”), a public-housing project in Mississauga, and his crew Yung Cash Gettas. “ACG to YCG ... The Con’s where it’s at,” J Solo rapped in a video posted in January 2018. “Gang, gang, gang.”
A funeral service for Jason took place in Brampton on Sept. 8. As police continue to investigate Jason’s death by gunfire on Aug. 27 at Ouellette and University avenues, family and friends remember the 20-year-old student for his warm personality, his scholastic endeavours, his ambitions for a career in law, and his hopes to end street violence.
An obituary for Jason notes he was “most cherished” by his identical twin brother Jerome. Jerome Solomon’s Facebook page, on which he refers to himself as J Solo, includes a photo of himself side by side with Jason, posted in 2014.
But the two young men promoted very different messages.
As J Solo, Jerome’s lyrics are filled with threats of violence — especially gun violence. “We pop’ em with ag at ,” J Solo rapped in a music video entitled Don’t Want It. “30-cal put a hole in your vest. Ka-bang, that’s a hole in your chest.”
The video shows Jerome with other young men flashing hand signs at the camera.
“I’m out here, man. Gang, gang, gang,” J Solo rapped in another video, entitled Out Here. “ACG the f **king gang.”
While the rapper and his associates appear to make trigger pulling motions at the camera, he recites curse-filled verses about “pussy n **** s” and suggests the wrong he will do if he sees enemies on his block.
The video ends with J Solo appearing to gesture at the camera as if pointing a pistol, punctuated on the track by the sound of a gunshot. Acorn Place resident Alicia Pantlitz- Solomon, Jerome and Jason’s mother, admitted that Jerome’s rapping as J Solo is “something that I’m not happy about.” “Unfortunately, that’s the career he’s chosen,” Alicia said in a phone interview with the Star. “He’s a ‘gangsta rapper.’ I guess he looks up to 50 Cent and all those guys who rap like that.” Despite her misgivings about Jerome’s music, Alicia was adamant that Jerome has never been involved in real crime or gang activity.
“I think a lot of that (rapping) is just male bravado,” she said. She praised Jerome’s intelligence and skill with words, describing him as someone “who has never hurt anyone, never been shot at, never done anything to anyone — short of saying lyrics.” “It’s rapping. They ’re just talking garbage. They’re not real.” Asked about Jerome’s whereabouts, Alicia said she did not know where he is currently living or how to contact him.
She said she and the rest of her family were shocked when Jerome appeared at Jason’s funeral service. “He spoke at the funeral,” Alicia said. “He said that he wants to change his life.”
Alicia said Jerome — who has not completed high school — pledged to pursue an education like his brother, and promised he would not seek any kind of revenge. “He said he is going to leave it to God.” Alicia expressed frustration with police, who have remained tightlipped about Jason’s killing.
“We have no leads. I don’t understand,” she lamented. “There are no cameras?” According to Alicia, the only communication she has had with investigators on the case was when Peel Regional Police officers visited her mother’s home, where Jerome has kept belongings in the past.
“They had a warrant. They said they wanted to look and see if he has any guns or ammunition,” Alicia said. “I’ve never not co-operated with police. They came in, they went through everything.… There was nothing there.”
“They told me they did that because they were concerned about retaliation. I said that Jason wouldn’t want any retaliation. Even as a parent, I wouldn’t want that.”
Windsor police have described the shooting of Jason Pantlitz Solomon as a “targeted incident” that investigators are confident has ties to the Peel Region. According to Windsor police, two male suspects approached the victim and multiple shots were fired. No descriptions nor surveillance images of the suspects have been released. Peel Regional Police deferred all questions about the case to Windsor police. But last year, in a video interview with Brampton Focus, Const. Greg O’Connor of the Peel Regional Police street level organized crime unit acknowledged that gang activity in the Peel region is “definitely on the rise.”
O’Connor spoke of the need for parental awareness of indicators that young people are becoming involved in gangs, and noted the influence of “the music aspect.” “Social media has a huge presence,” O’Connor said. “It’s a huge lure and draw to (those at risk).” From January to July, Peel Regional Police seized 247 firearms in Brampton and Mississauga. The year 2017 was a record year for gun violence in the two cities, with a total of 76 shooting incidents. As of the end of August, the tally for 2018 was at 63.
Peel Regional Police spokesman Sgt. Matt Bertram said police have been investigating violent incidents at Acorn Place over the past year and a half.
At the start of 2018, Peel Regional Police began partnering with an Acorn Place community group in an effort “to strengthen our relationship” with the project’s residents and to encourage information sharing between the residents and police. Roslyn Solomon, an aunt to Jason and Jerome, said she knew Jerome was rapping, but wasn’t aware of his style or his references. Like Alicia, Roslyn suggested the gang references in J Solo’s tracks and videos are only part of a persona or image — not unusual in “gangsta rap” music. “Listen, when I was in high school, I was rapping. We were all rapping as though we were a
The problem with Jerome is he has associated with people that we wouldn’t like him around.
gang, but nobody had any real affiliation,” Roslyn said. “It was just what we did to look cool because that’s what we saw on television.” Roslyn said she hasn’t watched any of J Solo’s videos herself. “I’m a Christian. I’ve tried to (watch the videos), but the content — for me, I have great trouble when I listen to that language.”
Roslyn said she has never heard anyone in her family talk about either of her nephews being involved in anything criminal.
“I know this (about Jerome).… He has never done anything that should have resulted in this (homicide). That is for sure. He’s no angel — nobody is. But he’s never done anything that would have resulted in this.”
“He has never held up a gun to somebody. He has never hurt somebody in those ways.… The problem with Jerome is he has associated with people that we wouldn’t like him around. And I think that’s giving him a bad rap.” A message from the Star to J Solo’s Instagram account remained unanswered at press time. Rosyln expressed fear of the public making presumptions about Jason’s death, and she urged police to take action on the case.
“My nephew is dead. Wherever it came from, I don’t care — I just want (police) to catch them.… This is unacceptable. It should never have happened to him, or anybody. “I don’t know what’s happening in this city (Mississauga) where every day, we turn on the news and there’s something with careless, flagrant disregard for life.” Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Windsor police Major Crimes Branch at 519-255-6700, ext. 4830. Anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477 or www.catchcrooks.com.