Charles Andrew Jones II[4] (June 21, 1998 – June 23, 2024), known professionally as Foolio or Julio Foolio, was an American rapper from Jacksonville, Florida. He was associated with the city's rap scene and was involved in high-profile feuds with other rappers.[5] Jones was also linked to local gang activity, with his music often addressing these affiliations. On June 23, 2024, Jones was fatally shot in a hotel parking lot in Tampa, Florida.[6]
Early life
Charles Andrew Jones II was born on June 21, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up in the Moncrief neighborhood and was a member of the "6-Block" set of the street gang KTA ("Kill Them All").[4][7] His father, Charles Andrew Jones, was murdered in a 2011 shooting in Jacksonville.[8]
Career
Vulture described Foolio's 2019 mixtape Never Wanted Fame as "preoccupied with death and jail visits, ailing family members and creeping paranoia."[9]
Foolio released his debut album, Life of Me, in 2022. Two more albums, Final Destination (2023) and Resurrection (2024), followed before his death.
In 2017, Foolio's 18-year-old cousin, Zion Malik Brown, was shot and killed in his home.[10] This is believed to have started the deadly gang war in Jacksonville, as rapper Yungeen Ace was wounded and three men killed in a 2018 retaliatory shooting,[11] and Foolio posted derogatory content about the victims on social media.[12]
Foolio was shot and wounded in July 2020 in Houston, Texas, and claimed in a November 2021 interview that he "shot back in self-defense. My gun is registered."[13] On October 7, 2023, he was shot in the foot while driving in Jacksonville.[14] In 2023, a former security guard for rapper NBA Youngboy stated during an interview that his client had an incident where Foolio and his group confronted him.[15] According to Foolio in a 2021 DJ Vlad interview, unreleased Youngboy tracks were leaked online with the hashtag "#FOOLIODISS".[16] In an April 2024 post to his Instagram account, Foolio commented on the "tragic [...] multiple attempts on my life."[4]
Death
On June 23, 2024, in the late night after his 26th birthday, Jones was fatally shot and three other men were wounded after three people armed with a pistol and two rifles opened fire on them in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Tampa, Florida. The assailant armed with the pistol had an extended high-capacity magazine and fired more than 30 times, meanwhile the other two assailants both had brass catchers on their rifles.[17] Another two armed men involved in the attack did not open fire. Jones had been attempting to book a room in the hotel after he was asked to leave an Airbnb by authorities for exceeding occupancy limits.[18] Kamiyah, 16, Rasheed Brown Jr., 18, Keith Hopskins, 17, and Damari James, 18, were arrested in Jacksonville for their suspected involvement in the murder. Davion Murphy, 27, has a warrant out for his arrest due to his suspected involvement. According to Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, Jones was murdered as part of a retaliation by rival gang members.[19][20]
