Pimp C, Found Dead At 33 In California

Behind his macho rapper persona, Chad "Pimp C" Butler was really just a big teddy bear who loved a good joke, his family and friends said.
But on stage, the serious young man from Port Arthur was one of the most formidable forces in Southern rap music, according to music critics.

Butler, 33, was found dead Tuesday morning in a Hollywood hotel room, according to Associated Press reports.

Cause of death had yet to be determined, Butler's mother, Weslyn "Mama Wes" Monroe said.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives were investigating.

The body likely would be examined today at the county coroner's office, but a ruling was not expected, the paper reported.

In a statement released by Butler's publicist, manager Rick Martin asked "that everyone please respect his family and those close to him at this time and refrain from rumors and innuendo."

As part of the duo the Underground Kingz, Butler and fellow Port Arthur resident Bernard "Bun B" Freeman brought a Southern drawl and a molasses-slow sensibility to rap music, previously dominated by fast-talking urban artists.

"Pimp C's voice liberated the whole South because he sounded like the South," music journalist Matt Sonzala said by phone from Houston. "He sounded like a country dude ... Pimp C is the basis for all Southern rap."

Sonzala said in his travels from the East to West coasts and everywhere in between, Pimp C and UGK were overwhelmingly cited as an influence.

"They were the freakin' cornerstone of the whole thing."

However, Butler's career took a detour in 2002 when he did a three-year stint in prison on weapons charges.

In a 2005 interview shortly before his release, Butler told The Enterprise that fame and money swept him into a spiral of booze and drugs.

"I don't blame anyone for me being here," he said in 2005. "I created an atmosphere where either I was going to hurt somebody or somebody was going to hurt me."

But in prison, Butler learned the importance of thinking things through before acting.

He earned a GED, worked in the prison library and focused "on being a better man today than I was yesterday."

Monroe said her son had emerged more focused, disciplined and responsible.

But maturity didn't dull his creative edge.

"He was the man," Sonzala said. "His actions spoke more than his crazy words. He put it out there; he worked; he made the most of his music career."

And prison didn't put a damper on that career.

If anything, incarceration made Butler a cause célèbre, rallying his fans.

"'Free Pimp C' was the catch phrase of the new millennium," Sonzala said.

Perhaps comparisons to Janis Joplin are inevitable.

Like Joplin, Butler grew up in the gritty refinery town of Port Arthur.

Like Joplin, his talent and drive lifted him to glittering heights that weren't always what they seemed. And like Joplin, Butler died alone in a hotel room far from home.

"They lost somebody," Sonzala said of the rap community. "They lost one of their main mentors. This dude would rap with everybody from the East Coast to the West Coast. From Jay-Z down to dudes from PA and all through the Triangle."

His rap persona, Pimp C, was flamboyant, outspoken and edgy.

But back in Port Arthur, Butler was more commonly known as a friend, a neighbor, a son and a daddy.

At the church he attended when he was at home, he was the guy who went around hugging everyone.

Butler's roots went deep into the Southeast Texas soil.

"He loved Port Arthur intensely," his mother said.

The two spoke by phone last week.

Monroe said Butler was in high spirits, excited about his latest project, collaboration with Three 6 Mafia.

"He was in L.A., doing what he loved most," she said.

Monroe said another part of Butler people didn't always pick up on was his intellect.

When he was in kindergarten, he was already working several grades above his age group. Advertisement

But he wasn't interested in academics. From his earliest childhood, music was his passion.

"He used to sing himself to sleep before he could even speak," Monroe said.

Butler's father, Joe Butler, was a professional trumpet player, and his son grew musically on a diet of blues, R&B, jazz and soul.

The Rev. John Morgan, pastor of United Christian Fellowship, said another side of Butler most people probably didn't see behind the rapper persona was his faith.

"He was a real guy - a loving father and he loved the Lord," Morgan said. "Behind the scenes he was just an everyday, down-to-earth nice guy and it was a pleasure knowing him. I'm really going to miss him."

Arrangements had not yet been made for Butler's funeral, his mother said.
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