Pimp C
by LikeBoom on Aug.18, 2010, under Pimp C
Chad Lamont Butler, better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper, hip hop singer and record producer.
Born 29th December 1973 in Crowley, Louisiana but raised in Port Arthur, Texas, Butler grew up in a musical environment as his father was a professional trumpeter who regularly worked with the blues/gospel singer Solomon Burke. Butler studied classical music at high school and sang in the choir, but soon began to take an interest in hip hop after listening to Run-DMC. This led to him forming the rap group Underground Kingz – later known as simply UGK – with his best friend Bernard Freeman (aka Bun B). After appearing at several venues in the local area they were signed to Jive Records in 1992.
Their first release was Too Hard to Swallow, which reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. This was followed by 1994’s Super Tight, which reached the Top 10 in the same chart (also breaking into the top half of the Billboard 200 pop chart) and earned the duo overwhelming critical acclaim, and then came 1996’s Ridin’ Dirty (which charted inside the Top 20 on the Billboard 200). This was followed by some high-profile appearances on other artists’ records, including Jay-Z’s Top 20 hit Big Pimpin’ and Three 6 Mafia’s Sippin’ On Some Syrup, and the release of their fourth studio album Dirty Money – which shot to number eighteen on the Billboard 200.
The group were forced to take a hiatus from 2002 to 2005 as Butler was incarcerated on a gun assault charge. During this time his record label released the rapper’s one and only solo album – Sweet James Jones Stories. Immediately upon his release UGK returned to studio to record their self-titled fifth studio album. Released on 7th August 2007, it was the biggest hit of their career, shooting straight to number one on the Billboard 200 and producing the hit single International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You).
However, just four months later, Butler was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. According to the coroner’s report, he had accidentally overdosed on promethazine and codeine.
