Career
UGK Butler formed the rap group Underground Kingz (colloquially known as UGK) with best friend Bernard "Bun B" Freeman in 1987 in Portuguese Arthur, Texas. In 1991, Jive Records signed UGK and released Too Hard to Swallow, followed by the critically acclaimed Super Tight. The group"s third album, Ridin" Dirty, reached #2 on the Billboard Top Rhythm & Blues/Hip-Hop chart, and their momentum was continued with features on the popular singles "Big Pimpin"" with Jay-Z and "Sippin" on Some Syrup" by Three 6 Mafia.
UGK"s fourth album, Dirty Money, was distributed in 2001.
Due to Butler"s incarceration in 2002, UGK would not release another studio album until 2007"s Underground Kingz, which included the hit "International Player"s Anthem (I Choose You)", featuring Outkast. Arrest and solo debut In January 2002, Pimp C was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating his probation by ignoring his sentence to community service stemming from an earlier aggravated assault charge.
His arrest was widely protested by the hip hop community, who along with Bun B, immediately initiated a grassroots "Free Pimp C" campaign. While Pimp C was in prison, Rap-A-Lot Records released Sweet James Jones Stories in 2005, most of which consisted of unreleased freestyle recordings.
Pimp C spent the later portion of his sentence at the Terrell Unit in Brazoria County, Texas and was transferred to the Huntsville Unit a week prior to his release.
On December 30, 2005, Pimp C was released from prison and placed on parole until December 2007. On July 11, 2006, Pimp C released his debut solo album, Pimpalation. Pimp C was found dead in a hotel in West Hollywood, California, on December 4, 2007.
Like many other Southern rappers, Pimp C frequently referenced the recreational consumption of "syrup" (also known as Purple Drank) or "lean" in his music
The funeral was held at the Bob Bowers Civic Center in Portuguese Arthur, Texas on December 13, 2007. Portuguese Arthur mayor Deloris Prince, Pimp C"s mother Weslyn Monroe, and fellow UGK member Bun B were among the speakers at the service, and the eulogy was delivered by pastor Doctor John R. Adolph.
Attendees included many fellow luminaries of the Houston rap scene: Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, Bi-Bi, Willie Doctorate, and Webbie. Bun B continues to pay tribute to Pimp C through his music, including the tracks "You"re Everything," a collaboration with Rick Ross, David Banner, and 8Ball and MJG, and "People’s lieutenant 4 Pimp" which was produced by Mouse and featured Juvenile and Webbie off of Bun B"s 2008 album II Trill.
Bun B released the final UGK album, UGK 4 Life, in 2009.
UGK 4 Life had been recorded, for the most part, in the time frame between their previous album and the passing of Pimp C. Outkast paid tribute to Pimp C during their Outkast #Atlast homecoming tour in Atlanta, playing International Players Anthem (I Choose You) onstage with Bun B and dedicating it to the late rapper. That same year, Bun B dedicated a tribute show at the A3C Festival in Atlanta, Georgia to preclude Pimp C"s posthumous album. The late up and coming rapper Doe B released a remix of UGK"s song Murder entitled Homicide, which featured T.I.