On this day in Hip Hop history, we lost one of the South’s hottest up and coming artists. James Adarryl Tapp Jr., aka Soulja Slim, was shot and killed in front of his mother’s house in the Gentilly neighborhood in New Orleans in 2004. It was later reported that the gunman was hired and was paid $10K to kill SLim.
Soulja Slim is most known for being the No Limit soldier responsible for the #1 smash hit “Slow Motion”. In 2004, the single hit the airwaves peaking at #1 on both the Billboard Rap chart and Billboard Hot 100. It also claimed the #2 spot on the Billboard R&B chart. Outside of this timeless club hit, Soulja Slim put out six solo albums, the most popular of these being Give It 2 ‘Em Raw, peaking at 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. Soulja Slim was penning bangers during the golden age of No Limit when they were putting out hit after hit and had big name artists such as Master P, Snoop Dogg, C-Murder, and the Gambino Family. He was a very instrumental part of their success.
The Magnolia Projects have seen a lot of great figures in rap music. It is also a place full of violence and poverty which fuel its destructive nature. No one will never know what great things that Soulja Slim could have achieved if someone didn’t take it upon themselves to end his life. Fortunately, in 2003 the police arrested Garelle Smith, the man suspected of killing Slim, but the charges were dropped and the murder became a cold case. In August 2011, however, the man suspected of killing Slim was also found dead, so some would say that “street justice” was served. In any case, on this Thanksgiving take some time away from your turkey and remember the legacy of the No Limit angel Soulja Slim.
