Obituary of Lawrence Barksdale

Lawrence Omar Barksdale was born in Philadelphia on April 24, 1971 to Barbara Ann and Robert Barksdale. He was the third child out of four children, and early on exhibited traits displaying his larger than life personality. As a small child, he was nicknamed “Poops” after a character on the Popeye cartoon. He was quick, funny, and very rambunctious, always getting into something. It was evident early on that Lawrence was a socially active, fun-loving personality and a shining star. He enjoyed making people laugh and being the center of attention. He easily made friends and quickly became a very popular person, even in elementary school. During his pre-teen years, Lawrence began to exhibit his talents in rapping, breakdancing, and later as a DJ. Taking on the nick-name Sha Luv which later changed to Sha-Him, he was wildly popular due to his entertaining personality and talent. He was a highly skilled lyricist, and was offered a record deal to do a rap album by the time he was in the 9th grade. His talents were undeniable and he always had a captive audience. Blessed with an outgoing personality, he also loved to learn new things, especially about religion, music and Black Consciousness and he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. He was very intelligent and had a sharp memory that could recall people and events from years ago with precision and clarity. Throughout his life, music was his passion and he was a pioneer in many ways. He wrote countless rap songs and created beats to be sampled, and co-owned a label with platinum artist Capone of Capone-N-Noreaga called 13/41 Ent. He was one of the top B-boy dancers out of the South Jersey/Philly area and one of the best DJ's to touch the turn tables and he exemplified Hip Hop. He started a neighborhood group in Willingboro called the International Zoo Club, and over two decades later that still thrives, and some of the younger members are now embarking on making it a famous clothing line called Nu Zoo Clothes in his honor. His dream was to make music, and he was an expert on all things related to music. He taught many men how to be stand up men. He loved his family and friends immensely and enjoyed spending time talking about his favorite sports team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in which he said the KC stood for King Christ. In recent years, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and enjoyed witnessing to others and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to one and all. In the weeks preceding his death, he was thrown a benefit by friend Norman Caldwell, where he was blessed to reconnect with old friends from his youth, and later was thrown a party by his cousin Ed Haynes allowing him a chance to fellowship with his cousins one last time. Despite his terminal illness, his faith in God never waivered and he was overjoyed to see his friends and his family come together in his honor. After fighting a tremendous fight with dignity, hope and prevailing faith, Lawrence was called home to be with the Lord on May 15, 2016. He leaves to mourn a devoted mother, Barbara, father, Robert, a sister, Belinda, brother-in-law, Anthony, his brother Darius, sister-in-law, Anjanette, nieces Alexis and Ayana, nephews, DeAndre, Darius, Jr., DeShawn, Devon, great-niece, Blithe, and half-sisters Lisa, Stephanie and Crystal. He also leaves behind his loving companion, Tiffany Wyn Williams who provided constant care and support, her two beautiful children and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends. Special mention to three special people who assisted his Mother with around the clock care during his last days, Tiffany, Shon Floyd and Uncle Gary Nixon. Lawrence was predeceased by his brother, Robert (“Bob”) and his maternal and paternal grandparents.