Soulja ‘Fa’ Lyfe

“Soulja ’Fa’ Lyfe” is the debut release by Soulja Slim, issued in 1994 as a cassette EP on Hype Enough Records (catalog HYPE101) under his earlier name, Magnolia Slim.

The story

Tapp began recording around 1993 with DJ KLC, the producer behind the independent Parkway Pumpin’ label, and took his first stage name from the Magnolia Projects where he grew up. “Soulja ’Fa’ Lyfe” was sold through local New Orleans channels and is reported to have sold 90,000 copies without major-label distribution. The track “Kickin It For Them Hoes” received radio play in the city, and the tape was issued with both radio and street versions of that song.

Sound and production

DJ KLC is credited as producer, engineer, mixer and editor, with Chill Will as executive producer. The nine-track cassette includes “A Little Something To Say,” “Souljafalyfe,” “On The Scene,” “Made For Walkin,” “Powda Bag” and “Lil’ Bit Human,” and reflects the local New Orleans rap production of the early 1990s that preceded the city’s national breakthrough later in the decade.

Legacy

The EP established the partnership between Tapp and KLC that continued at No Limit Records, where KLC worked as part of Beats By the Pound. It was followed in 1995 by the “Dark Side” EP. As an early independent cassette, it is documented mainly through collector databases and later uploads rather than chart or certification records.

More from hip hop in 1994.