Magnolia Shorty

Magnolia Shorty
Birth name Renetta Yemika Lowe
Also known as Magnolia $horty
Born September 30, 1982
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died December 20, 2010 (aged 28)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1996–2010
Labels Cash Money
Associated acts Birdman, Hot Boys, Juvenile, Lil Wayne, Soulja Slim

Renetta Yemika Lowe-Bridgewater (September 30, 1982 – December 20, 2010),[1] known by the stage name Magnolia Shorty, was an American rapper in the New Orleans-based bounce music scene.[2] She and Ms. Tee (Trishell Williams) were the first women signed to Cash Money Records.[3] Her 1997 debut album Monkey on the Dick (often stylized Monkey On Tha D$ck) is considered a bounce classic, and she "was already considered a legend of bounce music" at the time of her death.[3] Offbeat said the album exemplifies "the eccentric New Orleans elements of sexuality, comedy and hard edged dance rhythms."[4] In his 2007 book Triksta, Nik Cohn credits Magnolia Shorty with his own discovery of bounce, and the third chapter of that book is named after her debut album.[5]

Magnolia Shorty was discovered by Birdman.[6][7] She received her nickname from Soulja Slim, also known as Magnolia Slim, because both had grown up in New Orleans' dangerous Magnolia Projects.[8] Nicknamed "Queen of Bounce," she collaborated with many Cash Money artists beginning in the 1990s, including Juvenile and Hot Boys.[5] She was first featured on Juvenile's 1997 song "3rd Ward Solja."[9] In 2009 she appeared at the SXSW music festival[10] and won Best Bounce Song at the Underground Hip-Hop Awards in New Orleans.[3] She was a member of Lil Wayne's Cash Money crew in the early 1990s, and she was collaborating as well as working on her second album on the Cash Money/Young Money label in 2010.[11]

Death

On December 20, 2010, Shorty was going back to her apartment to get something before heading to Miami, Florida to perform at a festival. When she pulled in through the gate, another car came in behind her car and circled around her and blocked her in. Two men got out the car and started shooting through the windows, She was hit with 26 bullets and was killed in the car with Jerome Hampton in a double homicide in the parking lot of the gated apartment complex where she lived, called the Georgetown of New Orleans, in the New Orleans East neighborhood of Edgelake.[12][13] Police described the crime as a drive-by shooting.[14] Her funeral was held on December 30, 2010 at the Fifth African Baptist Church in her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, Lil Wayne, B.G., Juvenile, Mack Maine and Birdman were among the more than 1,000 mourners at the funeral.[15] She was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in New Orleans.

References

  1. ↑ Big Freedia (2011). Y'all Get Back Now. via Scion AV
  2. ↑ Cadogan, Garnette (August 2007). Bounce Back: Not even Katrina can stop the other New Orleans Beat, still bubbling under the radar. Vibe, p. 96
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fensterstock, Allison (December 21, 2010). Friends, colleagues remember slain rapper Magnolia Shorty. New Orleans Times-Picayune
  4. ↑ Swenson, John (March 1, 2010). A lucky bounce. Offbeat
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cohn, Nik (2007). "Monkey on that Dick." in Triksta: life and death and New Orleans rap, pp. 57-80. Knopf, ISBN 978-1-4000-4245-6
  6. ↑ Hermes, Will (December 4, 2005). The Rap Before the Rain. New York Times
  7. ↑ Fensterstock, Alison (December 25, 2009). New Orleans events calendar for Christmas night 2009. NOLA.com
  8. ↑ Grossberg, Josh (December 21, 2010). Five Things To Know About Slain Rapper Magnolia Shorty. E! Online
  9. ↑ Concepcion, Mariel (December 21, 2010). Former Cash Money Rapper Magnolia Shorty Gunned Down. Billboard
  10. ↑ Zeichner, Naomi (December 21, 2010). Nicki Not The First Femcee: Rest In Power Magnolia Shorty. The Fader
  11. ↑ Staff report (December 22, 2010). Lil Wayne's Cash Money crew member Magnolia Shorty shot dead. NME
  12. ↑ Staff report (December 20, 2010). Fans Remember Rapper Magnolia Shorty. WDSU
  13. ↑ Johnston, Maura (December 21, 2010). New Orleans Rapper Magnolia Shorty Murdered. Rolling Stone
  14. ↑ Associated Press (December 21, 2010). New Orleans Rapper Magnolia Shorty Shot to Death. ABC News
  15. ↑ http://www.eurweb.com/2010/12/funeral-for-magnolia-shorty-held-in-new-orleans/

External links