James Adarryl Tapp Jr. (September 9, 1977 – November 26, 2003), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Soulja Slim, was an American rapper and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for featuring on the U.S. number one hit "

Slow Motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...

Early life

James A'Darryl Tapp Jr. was born in New Orleans on September 9, 1977, to James and Linda Tapp. He was raised in the

Magnolia Projects The Magnolia Projects, officially the C. J. Peete Public Housing Development, was one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. As part of the ongoing redevelopment, the area has been renamed Harmony Oaks. The project was among the largest, hous ...

in New Orleans and attended Cohen Senior High School before dropping out of school in the 11th grade. He began selling drugs, as well as forming an addiction to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

. By 1993, he was rapping as "Magnolia Slim" in venues and block parties in the projects. His first recordings, however, would be on Parkway Pumpin', an independent label run by legendary producer

KLC Craig Stephen Lawson (born July 15, 1969), known professionally as KLC, is an American record producer, DJ, and drummer. He found fame as a member of No Limit Records' in-house production team Beats by the Pound. Since leaving the label, he has ...

and also featuring 39 Posse, Fiend, Mac, Mystikal Mike (later

Mystikal Michael Lawrence Tyler (born September 22, 1970), better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper. Early life and education Tyler grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana's 12th Ward. His father, who ran a small neighborhood store, d ...

), Mr. Serv-On and Da Hound. Soulja Slim's solo debut was ''Soulja Fa Lyfe'' was released in 1994 by Parkway Pumpin' and Hype Enough Records. The album did well, selling 90,000 units independently. In 1995, he released the four-song EP ''The Dark Side'' by Hype Enough Records.

Career

No Limit Records and Slow Motion (1997–2003)

In the same year, the song "You Got It" appeared on a

No Limit Records No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, M ...

double-CD compilation ''Down South Hustlers: Bouncin' and Swingin' ''. In 1998, Tapp, now calling himself Soulja Slim, released '' Give It 2 'Em Raw'' by

with his single and his

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

"From What I Was Told" and a single called "Street Life". The album debuted at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 82,000 in the first week. At that time, Soulja Slim was convicted of armed robbery and incarcerated. He reappeared three years later with ''Streets Made Me'', which was again released on the No Limit label. From there, he started his own label, Cut Throat Comitty Records and released ''Years Later'' in late 2002. In 2003, he released ''Years Later...A Few Months After'', his last album before his death. The album featured the song "I'll Pay for It". In 2003, he also collaborated with fellow New Orleans rapper Juvenile to make the song "

". The song was released on Juvenile's album '' Juve the Great'' and reached the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was Soulja Slim and Juvenile's first number one hit, and as the song was released after Soulja Slim's death he became only the sixth artist to have a posthumous number one song.

Death

Tapp died on November 26, 2003, after an assailant shot him four times, three in the face and once in the chest, on the front lawn of the home of his mother and stepfather, Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier of Rebirth Brass Band, in the Gentilly neighborhood. Tapp was buried with his Cut Throat Comitty charm and jewelry, and the outfit he wore on the cover of ''Give It 2 'Em Raw''. On December 31, 2003, police arrested 22-year-old Garelle Smith in connection with Tapp's murder. Police discovered a stolen police pistol in Smith's possession with a scratched-off serial number. A ballistics test matched bullets from that gun to the ones that killed Tapp, but no witnesses would testify against him. By 2008, Smith had been arrested for three more murders, and, in each case, charges were dropped and he was released due to lack of witnesses and the New Orleans 60-day law. Smith's murders, including that of Tapp, became

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

s. Smith himself was found shot to death on August 13, 2011.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Compilation

* 1999: ''Hype Enough Records: Limited Edition'' * 2005: '' Greatest Hitz''

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soulja Slim 1977 births 2003 deaths 2003 murders in the United States African-American male rappers American robbers Deaths by firearm in Louisiana Gangsta rappers Murdered African-American people No Limit Records artists People murdered in Louisiana Rappers from New Orleans Southern hip hop musicians Unsolved murders in the United States 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people Hardcore hip hop artists