Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 - December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an influential American rapper and record producer. He is best-known as cofounder and one-half of the Houston rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), whose soulful, blues-based version of “Dirty South” hip-hop helped put Texas rap music in the national spotlight. He, along with his UGK partner Bernard Freeman (aka Bun B), helped to define Southern rap.
UGK performing at Rock the Bells 2007. Image source: Wikipedia
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Chad Lamont Butler was born on December 29, 1973, in Crowley, Louisiana, but was raised in Port Arthur, Texas. Butler was the only child of Charleston Butler and Weslyn "Mama Wes" Butler Jacob Monroe. Butler was born prematurely and had numerous health issues, including a birth defect that caused his legs to point inward, which required braces to fix. He also had to be propped up when he slept due to digestive problems. His eyesight was poor, and he almost went blind after a severe bout of pinkeye.
As the son of a trumpet player, Butler had an interest in music since childhood: "I come from a classical background, I came up singing Italian sonnets, Negro spirituals, and shit of that nature." Even before studying musical notation in school, he learned to play many instruments by ear, including piano, trumpet, drums and flugelhorn. Butler joined the choir as a teenager and played numerous instruments at school, and after being encouraged by his stepfather Bill Monroe, began writing and creating his own music.
The Formation of UGK
Butler formed the rap group Underground Kingz (often referred to as UGK) with friend Bernard "Bun B" Freeman in 1987 in Port Arthur, Texas. Initially signed to independent label Big Tyme Recordz, the duo released two EPs, The Southern Way and Banned, in 1992 to moderate local success, which lead to the group being signed to Jive Records later that year.
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During that same year, the duo released its first major label debut, Too Hard to Swallow. It featured the single “Tell Me Something Good,” a laid-back track that contained a sample of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s tune of the same name. Another song from the album, “Pocket Full of Stones,” was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Menace II Society (1993), helping earn the group some national exposure. The song “Pocket Full of Stones” is emblematic of the rise in “gangsta rap” that came to dominate the hip-hop landscape in the early 1990s.
Critical Acclaim and Commercial Success
UGK's second album, Super Tight was released in 1994 to critical acclaim and commercial success, charting at #95 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 1994 UGK released Super Tight; Pimp C produced all the tracks. He also produced most of the songs on UGK’s next release in 1996, Ridin’ Dirty, which reached Number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, proving that the group was much more than a regional act and could sell records on a national scale.
Key UGK Albums
| Album Title | Release Year | Billboard 200 Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Too Hard to Swallow | 1992 | - |
| Super Tight | 1994 | 95 |
| Ridin' Dirty | 1996 | - |
| Dirty Money | 2001 | - |
| Side Hustles | 2002 | - |
| Underground Kingz | 2007 | 1 |
Collaborations and Growing Popularity
After taking a short hiatus from music in the late 1990s, UGK returned in 2000, appearing on Jay-Z's smash hit single "Big Pimpin'", which peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200, as well as "Sippin' on Some Syrup" by Three 6 Mafia, which peaked at #30 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Following their success with Ridin’ Dirty, UGK made a number of guest appearances, one on a hit single by Jay-Z entitled “Big Pimpin’” in 1999. This song merged Jay-Z’s Brooklyn-based braggadocio with UGK’s southern slang. The second guest appearance was on a record with the Tennessee-based rap group, Three 6 Mafia, called “Sippin’ on Some Sizzurp,” released in 2000. These recordings boosted the group’s national appeal and proved once again that their fan base extended far beyond the confines of Texas. Both of these collaborations greatly increased the duo's reputation, and helped fuel anticipation for their next project.
In 2001 UGK released its fourth album, Dirty Money. It featured several songs that included sexual content and blatant misogyny, such as “Like a Pimp,” “Pimpin’ Ain’t No Illusion,” and “Money, Hoes, and Power.” The album peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Legal Troubles and Solo Ventures
In December 2000, Butler was arrested in Houston's Sharpstown Mall after allegedly holding a woman, Lakita Hulett, at gunpoint and threatening to shoot her after a confrontation in a shoe store. He was sent back to prison in January 2002 after failing to report to his probation officer on several occasions, failing to keep up with his community service hours or pay outstanding court fees, as well as testing positive twice for marijuana. After Pimp C was sentenced to eight years in prison in August 2002, UGK was once again forced to go on hiatus, which led to both members pursuing solo careers.
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While Pimp C was incarcerated, his label Rap-A-Lot Records released his solo record Sweet James Jones Stories in early 2005. The album included several songs that focused on the “playa/baller” theme-that is the notion of defining one’s self in terms of the money one makes and the women one dates. Through such songs as “I’m a Hustler,” “I’s a Player,” and “Get My Money,” Pimp C focused on recurring themes in rap music-hustling, pimping, and money.
Pimp C's debut studio album, The Sweet James Jones Stories was released in March 2005, composed of material recorded prior to Pimp C's incarceration. He was released from prison on December 30, 2005. In the summer of 2006 another Pimp C solo album, Pimpalation, featured the song “Free” celebrating his release from prison. After being released from prison in December 2005, he released his second solo album, Pimpalation, in 2006.
Pimp C Disses Young Jeezy And Atlanta Hip Hop On Atlanta Radio I HELLACLASSIC
UGK's Reunion and Final Album
On August 7, 2007, UGK reunited to release their eponymous fifth studio album, debuting at #1 on both the Billboard 200 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. In 2007 UGK released the album, Underground Kingz, which debuted at Number 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. It featured guest appearances from such notable rap artists as T. I., Talib Kweli, Rick Ross, Big Daddy Kane, Too Short, Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band, and Outkast. The collaboration with Atlanta-based rappers Outkast, “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You),” proved to be the most popular song on the album. Using a sample from a tune produced by Willie Hutch from the 1970s Blaxploitation flick The Mack (1973), the song features two of the South’s most popular groups rapping side-by-side on a single track for the first time.
UGK ft. Outkast - Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You). Image source: YouTube
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Death and Legacy
In early December 2007, Butler was staying at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, California, where he was working on new music and performing with Too $hort. On the morning of December 4, 2007, he was scheduled to fly back home. After not hearing from him, his wife, Chinara, called the hotel and requested that they check on him. Hotel staff discovered Butler unresponsive in his hotel room. Paramedics pronounced him dead shortly after.
On December 4, 2007, Pimp C was found dead at the age of thirty-three in the Mondrian Hotel located in West Hollywood, California. According to DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia, Butler's manager Rick Martin described seeing the rapper's body "laying down like he was praying but there was blood around like he was shot." He further stated: "He was knelt down like he was praying and the candles were all the way burnt down, so they knew he'd probably been dead for a day or so because he always lit those candles to sleep. His death was ruled accidental and was attributed to a lethal combination of codeine/promethazine and sleep apnea.
Numerous rappers paid tribute to Butler after his death. “Int’l Players Anthem” was nominated for a Grammy after Pimp C’s death. Despite UGK’s growing prominence, the band’s success was short-lived.
A biography on the life and untimely death of UGK member Pimp C is in the works, penned by former OZONE magazine editor in chief Julia Beverly. Apart from telling Pimp C's story, the book will touch on "Houston's dynamic music culture" in addition to the "pitfalls of the entertainment industry," "economic and racial disparities in the Texas Criminal Justice system," "the hazards of drugs use" and more. Beverly interviewed some 250 people for the book. Among the list are Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia, David Banner, Ice-T, UGK member Bun B and Pimp C's mother, Weslyn "Mama Wes" Monroe, who was also his manager.
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