Jamel Davis, a Brooklyn rapper who went by the name Sinthoro Upper, was killed by his 16-year-old stepson on April 12, 2026, just as his music career was reaching a major turning point. The 43-year-old artist was shot in the chest and arm during a domestic dispute inside his Fort Greene apartment, weeks after hip-hop icon 50 Cent had promoted his breakthrough song to millions of followers on social media.
The shooting occurred around 10:50 a.m. at the New York City Housing Authority Walt Whitman Houses on Cumberland Walk near Carlton Avenue. Medics rushed Davis to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His stepson, Tristan Hightower, fled the scene and was taken into custody in the Bronx on April 21, nine days later.
A Text Message That Turned Deadly
The fatal confrontation began when Davis’ girlfriend, who is three months pregnant with his child, sent a text message to her son asking him to stop smoking marijuana in the apartment because she feared the smoke could harm her unborn baby.
When the teenager denied smoking, the dispute spiraled into a heated argument. Davis’ brother, Geo Miller, 40, said the boy started verbally attacking his mother with profanity and insults, which prompted Davis to step in.
“(The victim’s stepson) was being so disrespectful, calling her some names,” Miller told the New York Daily News. “That’s what got my brother out the bed, to say, ‘Hey bro, why are you talking to your mother like that? If you wasn’t smoking that’s fine but you don’t need to talk to her like that.'”
Hightower then retreated to his bedroom, retrieved a handgun he had been hiding in a shoebox and opened fire, striking Davis in the chest and arm. The teen fled the apartment and disappeared.
Arrest in the Bronx
Hightower was arrested in the Bronx on April 21. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the teenager appeared “very disheveled, like he’s been out on the street since the incident,” when officers caught up with him.
The suspect had been involved in two prior domestic incident reports with his mother in 2025, Kenny said. During one of those incidents, the mother informed police her son had access to a firearm — the same weapon authorities believe was used to kill Davis. Hightower has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. Whether he will be prosecuted as an adult or juvenile has not yet been determined.
Kenny noted that it remained unclear whether Hightower had the weapon when arrested, as officers required a warrant to search his backpack.
A Career on the Brink of Liftoff
Davis had spent years pursuing recognition in the music industry, and his death came just as that breakthrough finally arrived. His song “Slidin'” had begun receiving airplay on local hip-hop radio stations and garnered endorsements from major figures in the rap world. On March 16, 50 Cent showcased the track in an Instagram reel — a milestone Davis discussed with amazement on the “Talk Ya Talk” podcast three weeks before his death. Lloyd Banks, Rich the Kid, Fredro Starr, and even boxer Zab Judah also publicly threw their support behind the track.
“He was finally getting the recognition he worked for,” a close friend told HOT 97. “The radio just started picking him up. This was his moment.”
A Mentor Mourned by His Community
Davis and Miller grew up without parents, and Davis’ eventual success made him a respected and beloved figure in his Fort Greene neighborhood. He served as a mentor to local teens and helped organize community basketball tournaments. He had been in a relationship with his girlfriend for roughly eight years, and the expected baby would have been his third child. He leaves behind a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son.
In the days following the shooting, neighbors created a memorial outside Davis’ building, lining the sidewalk with candles, flowers and handwritten notes. Community members remembered him as someone whose influence extended well beyond music — a charismatic figure who formed connections with children, mothers and grandmothers throughout the neighborhood.
