Philadelphia rapper Elmii Problema, whose real name was Jerard Perdomo-Santana, (left) and Ivan Rodriguez (right) were both murdered in Trenton on Monday in a double slaying. This still image comes from a Facebook video of the two men driving around and listening to music on Jan. 12.
A man murdered this week in a capital city double slaying was an up-and-coming rapper.
Elmii Problema, whose real name was Jerard Perdomo-Santana, had just released his debut mixtape, Maxima Seguridad, last year.
Tragically, Perdomo-Santana, 25, and his friend, 19-year Ivan Rodriguez, both of Philadelphia, were gunned down Monday afternoon while in a car near the intersection of Ashmore Avenue and Washington Street.
“Tremendous composer, tremendous artist, a young man of just 25 years old with so much talent and so much life ahead,” one of his friends in the music industry wrote on social media. “He could have achieved fame and riches. But as many as he did not resist the temptation of the street ... death is one of the great possibilities”
Possibly foreshadowing his own death, a day before he died, Perdomo-Santana posted a picture of himself on Facebook and wrote in Spanish, “I have a simple question for God. Do you believe that when I die I still use my canenas in heaven.” Cananas, the closest derivative of the word, is a Spanish term that means gun belt.
Philadelphia rapper Elmii Problema, whose real name was Jerard Perdomo-Santana, was murdered in Trenton on Monday in a double slaying.
On Jan. 12, Perdomo-Santana, who called himself a Dominican Latin rap artist, posted a Facebook live video of him and Rodriguez driving around in a car together, listening to music. He posted a similar video on the morning that he died.
A third man was also struck by gunfire during Monday’s shooting. He drove a separate vehicle to the hospital, where he was later questioned by detectives.
One of Perdomo-Santana’s friends claims the rapper was a victim of a robbery.
The authorities would not confirm this information.
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said Monday in an email that there were no updates in the case and no arrests have been made.
So far this year, three people have been murdered in the capital city.
Aspiring rappers in the Trenton region have been victims of violent crime in recent years.
Devon Green, 23, whose rapper name was Savy G, was shot and killed in the carport of his Lanning Street home in Ewing on Oct. 19. Four men were arrested for the murder.
Trenton rapper Young Farr, 26, was gunned down on Middle Rose Street in August 2013 in the capital city. Wayne Bush received a 7-year prison sentence for the death of the rapper, whose name was Jafar Lewis, in December.