Tim Smooth:A Personal Retrospective

 

Today we lost a legend in the New Orleans Hip Hop world, a man whose influence spread farther than a lot of casual rap fans can imagine. At 12:30 AM this morning the Timothy Smoot, known throughout the Hip Hop world as Tim Smooth, lost a hard fought battle with cancer. While the music industry lost one of the last truly gifted rappers, I lost a true friend.

I first became familiar with Tim when I was still living in Florida,working at Camelot Records, and I came across his debut album “I Gots To Have It”. I liked the wordplay displayed and was an instant fan. When I moved to New Orleans in 1992 I saw firsthand the love and respect that the rap community here had for him, which only made me respect him even more. I remember being proud for the city and the Westbank in particular (my 1st landing spot when I got here) when he signed to Rap-A-Lot Records and putting out “Straight Up Drivin’ Em”, which lived in my walkman at one point.

Fast forward to 1995-96, Big Boy Records added Tim to the mighty Boot Camp Click, already home to NOLA rap heavyweights Mystikal, Fiend, Black Menace, and Partners-N-Crime. At this time I was running with the top underground rap squad in the city, The Psychoward (Mac, Storm, Rajsmoove, WonEyeWillie, Blaknif, Cutlass, and too many to name in this post), and on one fateful day our camps engaged in one of the best impromptu MC battles this city had ever witnessed. Both crews traded bar for bar, with each holding their own against the other, until Tim stepped up and laid waste to my crew with 48 scathing bars before walking off. I would later remind him of that day when out paths would eventually cross again and a friendship was forged.

 In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina tried to destroy this beautiful city, new hope sprang up in the form of an opportunity to be on the radio. Headed by Big Herc, now of Power 102.9 fame, the Big Ass Morning Show with Herc as the lead voice, Tim as the cool ass Co-Lead, and me as the DJ, changed the way radio was done. We would just go up there and have fun, and the people loved it when he would crack the mic with “TOP OF THE MORNIN’ PIMPIN” 4 the fellas and “TOP OF THE MOOOOORNIN BAAAAAABY!!!” for the ladies. After the show we would roll around, chiefin’, and developing ideas for the following show. While unfortunately the radio station would eventually close its doors, the friendship that it formed remained. We were given season tickets to the 2006 Saints NFC South Division title winning season and would discuss all things Saints related as well as harass the visiting fans without mercy, but always without malice. We would talk to each other every game day in the seasons to follow,but never during the game itself, as Tim felt it was bad luck, something I myself would adopt as well. That worked like a charm during the Saints’ Championship Season of 2009-2010…

When Tim told me of the cancer last year, it really hit me hard. My schedule prevented me from participating in the benefit thrown, but we still kept in touch whenever one of us crossed the other’s mind. Its gonna be difficult not having our pre-game match-up talks this season, and I may never look at a grey Navigator without a tear coming to my eye, but I take solace in knowing that he is no longer in pain, and is now in a better place. I tip my hat, raise my glass, and dare I say light my weed in your memory fam. You truly will be missed. Heaven just got one the coldest rappers to ever do it… REST IN POWER!!!!!