Here’s everything to know about rapper J $tash, who reportedly shot and killed a woman in front of her 3 kids, before turning the gun onto himself.
Rapper J $tash died in a murder-suicide shooting incident in California on January 1. The 28-year-old (real name Justin Joseph) allegedly shot and killed a woman, 27-year-old Jeanette Gallegos, and then fatally shot himself inside a Temple City home, according to People. Jeanette’s three children, ranging in ages from 5 to 11, reportedly witnessed the incident and called authorities. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene and removed the kids, who were unharmed, from the residence, per People.
J $tash appeared to have been dating the woman he killed, though this hasn’t been confirmed. Learn more about the late rapper below.
J $tash was from Florida.
J $tash was originally from South Florida, but moved to New York to pursue his rap career. In a 2017 interview with Crack magazine, J $tash reflected on his early life in the Sunshine State. “Growing up in South Florida was cool, good weather, amazing food, a lot of Caribbean culture, I wouldn’t prefer any other place,” he told the publication. “Right now looking at South Florida we are on top of the music game, but growing up I wouldn’t have expected to see this at all. For most people South Florida is a vacation place. That’s somewhere you go for two weeks then you leave, but it’s left a huge mark on me. The style there is very trippy, there are a lot of trippy people down there. There are people from all over, from Cuba to the Bahamas. I guess I would say I got a lot of my sense of style from that mixture of cultures.” J $tash went on to say that while he loved Florida, he left for New York because “the right opportunity for me was never going to be there so I had to get out.”
He released several albums and singles.
J $tash had a pretty impressive discography before his passing. His debut mixtape, Hood Rich, was released in April 2016. He released two more albums, Relax with Me and No More Distractions. Some of his hit singles included “Guerrillas,” “Guap,” “Puma,” and “Nuthin.” The last song he released before his death was “Ninja Mask,” which also featured Fly Boy Ash. It came out on October 15, 2021.
He dabbled in modeling.
In addition to music, J $tash also worked in modeling a bit in his career. In fact, he got modeling co-signs from Kanye West, according to his interview with Crack magazine. He also reportedly held the professional titles designer and businessman. But overall, J $tash was know best for his rap work.
He was on Instagram.
J $tash had an Instagram account that he’d post on before his death. He had 168,000 followers on his account, which is now on private. His account has 34 posts, and is following 5 other pages on the social media platform. In his Crack magazine interview, J $tash called Instagram “the most successful platform in my career.” He added, “Instagram is pretty much just branding yourself, unfiltered and untouched. You can represent yourself in anyway you want, and say much more through an image than you can with words.”
He considered himself a ‘hustler’.
J $tash referred to himself as a “hustler,” when the Crack magazine interviewer asked J $tash how he’d define himself as an artist. He told the publication, “Growing up I never had a job but I always managed to get by on my own terms. For me educating myself was the most important thing, and turning the skills I learnt on the streets into more legitimate avenues. Growing up I used to sell drugs and things like that, but that taught me how to earn a living. That background and hustle is still in me to this day, it motivates me now to never stop working.”