Jason Johnson (Camoflauge)

Case background and investigation

Jason Akeil Johnson, known to listeners as Camoflauge, was one of the first rappers from Savannah, Georgia, to reach a national audience. Born in Savannah on December 9, 1981, he began recording in 1999 with the group Crime Affiliates. According to Connect Savannah, his first solo album, "I Represent," released in 2000, reached No. 58 on Billboard's hip-hop chart. He was signed to Universal Records but was dropped after being charged in a drug case; the paper reports that those charges were later dismissed. His last album, "Keepin It Real," came out in 2002.

At about 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 19, 2003, Johnson was shot outside Pure Pain Records, the studio on West 37th Street where he worked. He had his toddler son with him at the time. The child was not injured. Johnson was taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center and was pronounced dead that evening, according to Connect Savannah. He was 21.

The Christian Science Monitor, reporting from Savannah two weeks later, described the killing as one of several homicides in the city over a short period that spring and said it prompted community meetings on violence and opportunities for young people. The paper noted that Johnson had been held for about three months in 2000 on a murder charge that was dropped when a grand jury declined to indict him. It also described his standing in the neighborhood, where he had handed out about 1,500 Thanksgiving turkeys from his studio and dressed up as "Santa Flauge" at Christmas.

No arrest has been announced in the more than two decades since. None of the sources reviewed identifies a suspect or a motive, and police have not publicly named anyone in connection with the shooting. In a May 2023 article marking the twentieth anniversary, Connect Savannah reported that the Savannah Police Department's cold case unit was reviewing the file to assess what information was available.

Johnson's name has returned to wider attention through his daughter, Flau'jae Johnson, who was born after his death. She won an NCAA women's basketball championship with Louisiana State University and is a hip-hop artist herself. Connect Savannah's anniversary article describes him as still a Savannah rap icon.

The case remains classified as an unsolved homicide. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Savannah Police Department.