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hen the reports of T.I. and his entourage being shot at in Cincinnati hit the news, the entire rap industry was appalled. It was a frightening time for any Grand Hustle fan, but it was far more traumatic for the Grand Hustle family. When the news was released that T.I.’s childhood friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson was killed, sadness inevitably followed. Thankfully, no one else was killed during that unfortunate incident, but three other people were shot that night: a bodyguard, the van’s driver and a girl named Janice Gillespie, who was sitting on Big Phil’s lap when he was shot. Janice was shot twice, once in the face and once in the left kidney. Her name made the 9:00 news everywhere from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo but she never really got an chance to tell her story, until now. Six months after the incident, OZONE has given Janice an opportunity to tell her story and voice her thoughts and feelings of that dreadful night in Cincinnati. Janice’s life has changed drastically since the shooting; she has recently relocated to Atlanta, where she is succeeding as an up and coming model and living every day to honor the memory of Big Phil. Tell us your name, where you’re from and how you met Philant. My name is Janice; I’m 21, from St. Paul, Minnesota. Grand Hustle did a show in Minnesota and I met Phil and the rest of the team after the show. They asked me to come along with them to the next city, so I flew down there to Cincinnati, Ohio and it was great, I had a lot of fun. A lot of people say Tip is conceited and everything, but he’s not. People think he cocky, but he’s really a cool person to hang with, and Philant, he just makes your whole day wonderful. If you were in a bad mood, you couldn’t be in a bad mood around him because he’s such a wonderful guy. So you met them down in Cincinnati; explain what happened that night. We went to the club, then we went to the afterparty and we were debating whether we should go or not because it was already pretty late, it was like 2 or 3 in the morning, but we all went back and changed our clothes, we went to the bar lobby and had some drinks and then went to the afterparty. It was cool for a minute, we were chillin’ and drinking, you know all having fun. We were all having a good time and the situation just escalated so quickly. Next thing I know, Philant was trying to hurry up and get us out of there. I heard they were trying money in the crowd. Was that true? I mean, it was true but I really didn’t see it because where we were at, you couldn’t really see them, Tip and Yung Joc were doing what they were doing, but it was stupid for the [people in the crowd] to be getting upset over somebody throwing some money, but I really didn’t know what was going on. The next thing I know I was in a van, sitting on Philant’s lap and I heard Tip say get down, and then gunfire just started shooting all over and it was crazy because I looked up and I didn’t know if I got hit or not because all the sudden hot blood started falling outta my face and I was like “Oh, my God!” I started freaking out and panicking and I turned my head and saw Big Phil, it was crazy. So whose blood was covering your face? It was my blood, I got shoot twice, once in my bottom lip and one in my left kidney. It was so crazy because Tip said I handled it well and I wasn’t panicking that much, but I was just in shock. I was in the hospital thinking about how lucky I was that God saved my life. Philant is my angel. I didn’t know what was going on, nobody told me anything; I had to watch the news to see that Philant had passed away.
Do you still talk to T.I.? I stay in touch with Tip when I can. I see him sometimes in the club, but his family is so cool, him and Tiny are so cool; the whole Grand Hustle is like a second family to me. How has T.I. handled the whole situation? Tip’s a lot better, but to me I can still see it. When he sees me, I think it brings back some of the pain. I think he’s still hurting but he’s handling it better than me. I know they had been friends for a really long time, so I know he’s still dealing with it. Philant’s cousin Zeke is still going through it a lot, especially because he sees Phil’s daughter all the time. What has the whole situation with Big Phil getting killed taught you? A lot of people think that I was being a groupie or something, but no, I’m not being a groupie. To me it’s like, every time I see a girl jump in a limo or on a bus, that just reminds me of myself and look what happened to me. If I could tell those girls anything, I would tell them it’s not worth it, honey. It’s not worth it because you don’t know what could happen or nothing. I didn’t know what was gon’ happen. It’s not even worth it. You mentioned the term groupie, so what exactly is your definition of a groupie? A girl that just keeps walking back and forth, dancing around trying to be seen. A lot of girls think that I’m trying to seen all the time because I wear shorts or little skirts, but that’s just me. But I can cover up and still get hollered at. I don’t come up to celebrities trying to get with them. I may speak to them or say hi, and whatever goes from there, you know, I read the video vixen book and I was upset because [Karrine Stephens] is putting her business out there trying to make other video girls look bad. My opinion is, if you do something with a celebrity or something, keep it to yourself. What’s your response to people who call you a groupie? They can call me what they wanna call me cause I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing trying to make my dreams of being a model come true. I’m gonna be in a big house before I’m 23. Has Grand Hustle helped pay for your hospital bills? Yes, Tip did help me with that. Everybody told me Tip was gonna forget about me, but he did help me out. People always tell me, “He got all that money and you took a bullet, he should be getting you this, or that.” And I tell people, “That man is busy with his music; he got a lot of stuff to do.” I don’t call him just cause I might be broke and I need this or that, no. He told me if I need anything don’t hesitate to call him, but I’ve been on my own and I can take care of myself. How has the rest of Grand Hustle treated you since the incident? Hannah Kang, I love her. She is like a mother to me, a lot of people are always saying that she gotta attitude and that she is mean, but she is wonderful. She gave me so much good advice and helped me out in so many ways. I don’t care what anybody says about her, she may be mean, but she’s mean to you for a reason. I love her to death. The whole Grand Hustle is great though, they’re like my second family. I would never say nothing bad about them. People always tell me that I need to take them to court and sue them, but I’m not finna do that. They took me shopping when I came for the funeral, showed me a good time, made me feel at home; they’re like a family.
So what was your life like directly after the shooting? I was in the hospital for like two days, and then I went from Cincinnati to Atlanta for the funeral and I didn’t want to be seen at all or anything like that because my face and lip was so messed up. I felt like Kanye West; I listen “Through the Wire” and that’s how I felt. Were you and Philant romantically involved? No, we were just friends, we were real cool. He was sweetheart, a real friendly person. Everybody think that him and Tip were mean, but they are the complete opposite. I miss Phil a lot but when I see his daughter, my whole face glows and I feel a little better because I know that Phil lives through her. She is his only child and she is such a sweetheart. People always tell me I’m blessed and I’m just thankful that God gave me another chance to live.
Janice’s tattoo in memory of Philant (above); bullet wounds on her back and lower lip (below)
What advice can give to other girls about your situation? I know a lot of little girls have dreams of marrying a football player or a rapper and all that, and it’s not worth it, it’s really not worth it. People tell me that other girls talk bad about me because I be talking to this celebrity or that celebrity but they can say what they want about me, that’s not gonna hurt me at all. I know what I do, and what I do is right from wrong. I’m gon’ keep doing what I’m doing. If you could speak to Big Phil in heaven right now, what would you say? There is so much that I would say to him. I would tell him that I wish he could come back to life, we all miss you. I would tell him that he made the world a better place and that his daughter will carry on his memory. I would tell him that he was a good hearted man who was really loved by a lot of people. 63