Breaking News: Nationally Known Rapper From Port Arthur Dies

The nationally known rap star from Port Arthur, Chad Butler, known as Pimp C, has died, and in a live report on KFDM News at 6, his mother, Wes Monroe, said no matter how famous Butler became or how far he traveled, the 33 year old Lincoln High School graduate never lost sight of his roots and had a profound love for his hometown.

He's survived by his wife, three children, mother, grandmother and large, extended family.

The L.A. County Fire Department responded to a 9-1-1 call Tuesday at the Mondrian Hotel in the Sunset Strip in Hollywood and found Butler's body in his bed in a sixth floor hotel room.

Investigators haven't determined the cause of death but say there are no signs of foul play.

Butler, born December 29, 1973, was half of the group UGK, best known for appearing on the Jay-Z track "Big Pimpin'" in 2000. He appeared with Outkast on the song "International Player's Anthem. Butler's partner, Bernard Freeman, is also from Port Arthur.

Butler filmed a music video in Port Arthur in April of 2006. He said he wanted to give back to his hometown by featuring the city in his first solo music video.

"Actually, we have very little idea of what happened today," Wes Monroe told KFDM reporter Ashley Rodrigue. "What happened today, I guess we can say, is C's business manager found his body in his hotel room in Los Angeles, and we know he died in his sleep. Past that, we don't know anything."

Monroe says Butler was in L.A. to work on a project with the group Three 6 Mafia. They had been friends for many years and did a music video together at about the same time Butler did a video with Jay-Z. Monroe says he was in L.A. for business meetings and to work with other artists, but Port Arthur remained home.

"He lives in Port Arthur, we call it P-A-T," said Monroe. "The support has been tremendous. It has been overwhelming. Almost everybody I know, family, friends, artists, other entertainers, the phone won't stop ringing. It feels good, if anything can feel good right now."

Monroe says her son's death will impact the music industry.

"It's going to be a terrible loss to the industry," said Monroe. "He was very intense when it came to his music. If it wasn't absolutely perfect, he wouldn't deal with it. He was a musical genius, and you know, geniuses are always a little strange."

Monroe says her son started working with Bernard Freeman in 1988 in Port Arthur. They signed their first major contract in 1992.

Monroe says "someone should get a medal" if they can tell her how Butler came up with the rap name Pimp C.

"He told me one day that was going to be his name," said Monroe. "I never thought he'd make it anyway."

Monroe says fans should keep Butler and his family in their thoughts.

"Pray for his family," says Monroe. "He has three gorgeous children. They'll need all the support they can get. I will, too."

Monroe says Butler has a very large extended family that'll also need community support.

Funeral arrangements haven't been determined.

Stay with KFDM for the latest on the story.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Pimp C, who spun searing tales of Texas street life into a key role in the rise of Southern hip-hop, was found dead in an upscale hotel on Tuesday. He was 33.

The rapper formed Underground Kingz with partner-in-rhyme Bun B while the pair was in high school, and their often laconic delivery paired with wittily dangerous lyrics influenced a generation of current superstars like Lil' Wayne. T.I. had the group on as guests when he remade their 1994 song "Front, Back and Side to Side" for his "King" album.

To a mainstream audience, Pimp C was best known for UGK's cameo on the Jay-Z hit "Big Pimpin'," and for "Free Pimp C" T-shirts and shout-outs, ubiquitous in rap several years ago while he was jailed on gun charges. On Tuesday, his MySpace page had been changed to read: "C the Pimp is FREE at last."

Born Chad Butler, Pimp C was found dead in a room at the Mondrian hotel, a longtime music industry hangout not far from the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, where he had performed on Saturday night alongside rap veteran Too $hort. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los

Angeles County coroner's office said Butler had apparently died while in bed in his hotel room.

"At this time there's no signs of foul play," Winter said.

"It appears to be possibly natural, but pending autopsy and toxicology we can't say the cause."

Manager Rick Martin identified Butler and his death was announced by publicist Nancy Byron.

"This morning saw the loss of a man that was not only a client, but a very dear friend at a time when he had the most to live for," Martin said in a statement. "He was my best friend and I will always love him."

Though they never enjoyed massive pop chart success, UGK's early CDs are considered landmarks for the then-burgeoning Texas hip-hop scene, which also featured the Geto Boys. Signed to a deal with Jive Records, they released "Too Hard to Swallow" in 1992, "Super Tight" two years later, and "Ridin' Dirty" in 1996, considered a rap classic.

Over laid-back beats, they laid out incisive details that remain Southern rap mainstays: descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption, wood-grain steering wheels and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.

The duo's career was derailed when Pimp C was jailed for three years in 2002 on gun charges. But he got as much exposure as ever, as the "Free Pimp C" slogan spread.

An unauthorized album of Pimp C's freestyle rhymes was released while he was in prison. When he and Bun B finally put out an album this year, they felt such a need to re-establish themselves they titled their album "Underground Kingz," as if to underscore a new

start.

Critics praised the CD, which included the hit "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)," featuring OutKast. Pimp C's verse riffs on high-class women and cars: "I'm pullin' Bentleys off the lot. Smashed up the gray one, bought me a red. Everytime we hit the

parking lot we turn heads," he raps.

Barry Weiss, CEO of Jive, said in a statement: "We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad. He was truly a thoughtful and kindhearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront."

Butler, who grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, came from a musical lineage. His father was a professional trumpet player, and the rapper studied classical music in high school. He even received a Division I rating on a tenor solo at a University Interscholastic League choir competition.

"That's how I came up listening to everything," he told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview. "Music don't have no color or no face. It's a universal language. I think being exposed to all that kind of stuff influences the way I make records."

Pimp C is survived by a wife and three children.

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Associated Press writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to

this report.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)