[3][4][5][6] The group received national attention in 2000 after being featured on Jay-Z's hit single "Big Pimpin'", which peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Rhythmic Top 40.

UGK released their eponymous fifth studio album in 2007, which spawned the single "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" featuring OutKast, which peaked at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Pimp C was found dead in his hotel room on December 4, 2007, with a coroner's report attributing his death to complications stemming from heavy consumption of lean and his pre-existing condition of sleep apnea.

[7] 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.

[8] 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."

[9] 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.

Butler was particularly interested in the emerging hip hop genre as a child, and soon bonded and became friends with Bernard "Bun B" Freeman over their shared passion for music.

[7] Butler formed the rap group Underground Kingz (often referred to as UGK) with friend Bernard "Bun B" Freeman in 1987 in Port Arthur, Texas.

Jive Records failed to capitalize on this new-found interest in UGK, as their fourth album, Dirty Money, was released in 2001 with little to no advertisement or promotion.

On December 16, 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.

Butler claimed police used excessive force to restrain him, and alleged they knocked him unconscious twice and refused to let doctors at a local hospital perform a routine CT scan, instead transporting him straight to jail.

On the morning of December 4, 2007, he was scheduled to fly back home, where his wife, Chinara, was waiting with his cousin Ed at the airport to pick him up.

[7][26][10][27] The coroner's report ruled that Butler's death was accidental, attributing it to the effects of his heavy usage of "lean", a combination of codeine and promethazine, in conjunction with his pre-existing condition of sleep apnea.

"[31] Butler's body was transported back to his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, where his funeral was held at the Bob Bowers Civic Center on December 13, 2007.