April 2nd 2005, a Baton Rouge native and upcoming rapper by the name of Ivy Smith was in anticipation for the night to come.
Known to his peers and the music industry by the alias, Lil Ivy, everyone knew that night was about to be something special, because that night was before his birthday, April 3rd 2005.
Lil Ivy was a known high roller and someone well respected and connected in the underworld of the community. His dealings have been connected to criminal elements like supplying cocaine along with being involved in disputes and shootouts with his rivals.
He had the finances to have a party of luxury to usher in his birthday, and that’s exactly what he set out to do.
The venue was Club Shenanigan’s in Baton Rouge https://youtu.be/dgyHVU5eWqo (3:09-3:12)
It was a club Lil Ivy was no stranger to. In fact, in rare videos of his life, he can be seen outside the venue with his peers having a grand time socializing and representing the area he calls home, the South Side of the city https://youtu.be/j2yHNnUkLQM (0:00-0:28)
So that night Lil Ivy arrived at the club, and it was shaping up to be a party to remember, but it would be the last birthday party he lived to see. Allegedly, there was an altercation between Lil Ivy and others at the club, which led to a fight breaking out in the melee. Now, this isn’t something unheard of given the environment, plus mixed with alcohol and probably other paraphernalia, but the problem was, that some of these brawls are sparked by rivalry leaking in from the streets or gang associations and can turn deadly in the aftermath. Sadly, for Lil Ivy, this evidently went in the direction of one of those tragic outcomes.
April 3rd would arrive as midnight passed welcoming his birthday. Lil Ivy would leave the club after the events that led to the fight. With him, were his friends Kevin Henderson also known as Ace
and Joshua Thomas also referred to as Josh. The next time anyone saw the three of them, they would all be dead.
Early that Sunday morning on April 3rd, the night still young, reports by detective Robert Schilling stated that a uniform patrol officer was northbound on Sherwood Forest when he noticed a car crashed into a pillar at the bank and turned around to investigate the accident.
When he got closer to the scene, he realized it wasn’t an accident, but a crime scene. Looking into the vehicle he saw three individuals 25-year-old Ivy Smith, 26-year-old Kevin Henderson, and 23-year-old Joshua Thomas, all with gunshot wounds. Investigators determined that the crime scene appears to be due to someone pulling up alongside their vehicle, and opening fire. Furthermore, they were connecting the shooting to the altercation at Club Shenanigan’s that happened prior.
Reports state that Kenya Jarmon, Ivy Smith’s sister, was at the club that night, and was also present at the scene after the shooting. According to her, once she realized her brother was laying on the ground, she immediately ran by his side and started to give him CPR.
Sadly, both Lil Ivy and Kevin Henderson died at the scene while Joshua Thomas was transported to the hospital fighting for his life. Unfortunately, he too succumbed to his injuries, only able to keep on breathing for two days before his heart stopped, as recalled by his mother.
https://www.wafb.com/story/4276193/triple-murder-remains-unsolved
Lil Ivy’s life came to a tragic end. What was meant to be a memorable night welcoming another year around the sun, turned into a murder that cut short his celebrations and his dreams of channeling his life experiences into the music industry.
This wasn’t the only time Club Shenanigans was in the headlines for violence that led to bloodshed and the loss of life. Seems in the past the club also had altercations with patrons. It didn’t stop with Lil Ivy. On June 9th 2013, the Baton Rouge Police Department reported a shooting outside Club Shenanigans on around 2 a.m. Investigators said Jackson was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle when she was shot multiple times. She was taken to a hospital where she later died from her injuries. A second person was also shot but those injuries were not life-threatening.
Eventually, the club was permanently shut down and only the remnants of its dilapidated structure tell of the past it once had.
After Lil Ivy’s passing, law officials were hot on the case for several reasons. Not only because of their duty to uphold the law and bring perpetrators to justice, but knowing Lil Ivy’s connections and lifestyle in Baton Rouge, his murder wouldn’t stop there. Fear of retaliation causing more bloodshed was a constant on their minds, so something had to be done, and fast. Unfortunately, to this day the murder remains unsolved.
The last updated report details surfaced online on December 22nd 2005, with details that appeared to shed some light on what may be the smoking gun to break the case open, pun intended.
Two weeks after the shooting that led to Lil Ivy’s passing, another murder turned up two suspects and a gun. The gun was matched to the triple homicide, but the two suspects from the later murder were in jail at the time of the triple murder, so investigators concluded that somebody must have passed them the gun.
https://www.wafb.com/story/4276193/triple-murder-remains-unsolved
It was a ray of hope for the families and friends who had their loved one life ripped from their side. That hope would dwindle, as the years without any further updates on what became of the new evidence, much less the case. The law appeared to be at a dead end, but the streets spoke, and after a while, the speculations grew louder and louder about what might have happened that night leading to Lil Ivy’s death.
His nephew and rapper, Lit Yoshi,
went on live on his Instagram account with information that shocked everyone tuned in. The target of his verbal attack was a surprising suspect, Lil Boosie aka Boosie Badazz https://youtu.be/f4pwKcyipLE (2:02-2:50)
The surprising aspect was that Boosie and Lil Ivy were like brothers and held a close bond https://youtu.be/mrs7HH1rvZo (0:25-0:39)
Boosie was there when Lil Ivy founded the movement TBG which stood for Top Boy Gorillas.
The group developed a rivalry with the opposing group who dubbed themselves Bottom Boy Gorillas aka BBG.
Even with how close Boosie and Ivy appeared, according to Lit Yoshi, Boosie was the one responsible for Lil Ivy’s death https://youtu.be/f4pwKcyipLE (3:28-3:44) He further stated that what really happened was Trill Ent, the label that signed Boosie since back in the day
wanted to sign Lil Ivy, but Boosie was basically blocking the deal and Lil Ivy cut ties with him for it. The night Ivy lost his life, Lit Yoshi said Boosie ran from the fight that broke out leaving Ivy to fend off the attackers after Lil Ivy refused his bottle of alcohol given as an apology https://youtu.be/f4pwKcyipLE (3:02-4:40) https://youtu.be/f4pwKcyipLE (5:50-6:24)
Those statements line up with those of Lil Ivy’s son, Lil Ivy Jr
who claimed Boosie just wanted Lil Ivy’s spot for himself https://youtu.be/AYUbPRFVjMU (2:18-2:37) As if this wasn’t enough speculation and theory into Lil Ivy’s murder, his daughter also posted videos and posts addressing their grievances with Boosie as well https://youtu.be/3m6c2xa2XIo (2:47-3:02) https://youtu.be/3m6c2xa2XIo (4:09-4:30)
The falling out between Lil Ivy’s family and Boosie trickled over unto his son, Tootie Raww who made a statement to Lil Ivy Jr on his track “F’d Up” making it clear he moved with killers and doesn’t associate with any Gorillas, referring to Ivy’s creation TBG https://youtu.be/7dsvq78X6Uc (0:57-1:26)
Ivy Jr. kept the back and forth going, releasing a track titled “4/5” with the lyrics “How my daddy was your partna but you wna beef with us/hold on wait I know what it is he D riding snakes/so when we catch his ahh we gon’ F up that boy face/and Yoshi that’s my evil twin we spray that bih like mase/ya’ll actin’ like ya’ll hard but them BBG’s is gay/that’s why when we catch yo ahh we gon’ hit you with that K” https://youtu.be/8PJWZl5kfl0 (1:47-2:03) Soon the talks began escalating into violence and bloodshed and appeared to be going down the same road as his father Lil Ivy https://youtu.be/AYUbPRFVjMU (0:00-0:35)
Luckily, after things began spiraling, it appears that Lil Ivy Jr. and Boosie Badazz have finally made amends when they released the music video for their joint song “Real N****S Back” which featured videos of Lil Ivy https://youtu.be/Qqxb-iE-6so (0:00-0:28)
As a father, I’m assuming he wouldn’t have wanted the same life he lived for his children and would welcome his son choosing peace, rather than more pain for the family. Other affiliates of Boosie and Lil Ivy like Zae,
recalls how close they were and couldn’t see Boosie having a hand in Lil Ivy’s murder and was happy Lil Ivy Jr and Boosie reasoned out their problemshttps://youtu.be/2SmQpz0q-FU (0:49-1:50)
To this day Boosie continues to remember Lil Ivy and his friends lost back in the day through online memories
and songs pouring his grief like “Pain” and “Lil Ivy Gone” where he talks about feeling heartless and cold after Ivy was murdered, and feeling the guilt of arriving a little too late to make the difference in his friend surviving or dying https://youtu.be/P2t82SmzzT0 (0:20-1:32) https://youtu.be/Tl9NfCpgaUI (1:57-2:37)
Apart from Boosie who was blamed with the fault of Lil Ivy’s passing, another rapper that lived the street lifestyle by the name of Nussie
was also named as the one responsible for getting Ivy killed.
He was known to be disrespectful and reckless, so it came as no surprise when he released a song speaking on the allegations that he killed Lil Ivy to taunt Boosie, whom he also had a rivalry with. Nussie soaked up the attention and made light of the situation so people started taking that as a sign that he did in fact have a hand in Ivy’s death https://youtu.be/Ceifz49oWCc (0:00-1:29)
Nussie would later be murdered, and detectives labeled Boosie as the one responsible, stating that he paid his hit man, a 17-year-old henchman Michael “Marlo Mike” Louding to carry out the deed
Another affiliate of Lil Ivy named Big Head Da Dome Doctor
later did an interview speaking on telling Nussie to not feed into allegations that he killed Lil Ivy, but Nussie didn’t listen https://youtu.be/9BxJDnrNYfQ (0:06-1:58)
So many lost their lives in the wake of Lil Ivy’s homicide. Another sad realization of how quickly things in that lifestyle can escalate and leave a trail of bloodshed among people that had so much potential and talent. Rest in peace Lil Ivy https://youtu.be/j2yHNnUkLQM (0:12-0:28)
