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Chad "Pimp C" Butler 12/29/73-12/4/07

By John Nova Lomax

I came late to the UGK party. I was out of the country for much of their rise from 1992-1995, and then I lived in Nashville, where their legend had not yet spread, until the end of 1997. Even after moving back to Houston, it took me a few years to come around to them — I had kind of soured on hip-hop around that time.

In fact, one of the last hip-hop albums I was really digging then was Big Mike's Somethin' Serious, which came out in 1994. I had it on cassette, and had lost the insert card, so I didn't know until quite recently that Bun B was one of the guests on the posse track at the end of the record or that Pimp C had produced and sung the hook on "Havin' Thangs," one of the funkiest songs on one of the funkiest rap albums up to that point.

What I loved about Somethin' Serious was that it was resolutely, absolutely Gulf Coast hip-hop music — Big Mike had divided his youth between Houston and New Orleans, and you could hear it in his Meters samples, laid-back tempos and unabashedly Southern accent.

And then, just a couple of years ago, Matt Sonzala loaned me a copy of Super Tight, UGK's second major label record and their first classic. My mind was utterly blown. Super Tight took Somethin' Serious to whole other levels. I have always believed that had I heard it when it first came out, my life might have taken a different direction — maybe toward hip-hop jour­nalism instead of general music ­criticism.

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And the hits just keep on coming...
News reports out of New York this morning state that highly acclaimed Cuban percussionist Carlos "Patato" Valdez passed away yesterday at the age of 81. Most stories I'd ever read about the guy said he was crazy (in a good way) both on and off the stage and one of the most versatile percussionists to ever make a name for himself in New York's salsa and jazz scene. The entire concept of Latin jazz was formed around guys like Patato who were walking across the street from the Palladium to Birdland in the wee hours of the morning during the 50s and 60s.
Until yesterday, he was also one of the last guys from that era still around. His music will be sorely missed.

- Jonathan Cunningham

Chad "Pimp C" Butler with his mother, Wes "Mama" Monroe in Port Arthur, Texas, 2006

News reports trickling out of Los Angeles are revealing more about the unexpected death of 33-year-old rapper Pimp C.

Some of the details are conflicting, which is to be expected in the immediate hours following a high-profile death, but it appears that Pimp C, born Chad Butler, may have died from natural causes yesterday. According to this well-packaged story by Joey Guerra and Peggy O'Hare at the Houston Chronicle, however, his death is being investigated as a homicide.

My thoughts on that go both ways. At 33, it's easy to assume he didn't die of natural causes, but without any evidence of foul play, I'd hate to think homicide is on this case solely because he was a rapper.

But then again, he was a rapper, and most rappers who die, aren't lucky enough to drift on in their sleep. Either way, that's a law enforcement call, but it does raise questions about the way young black deaths are investigated.

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Reports coming out of Los Angeles and Chicago are sadly stating that rapper Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda West, died over the weekend "as a result of complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure." The family released a one sentence statement this morning, which read: "The family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief."
Details will be forthcoming over the next few days and CrossFade will keep you posted. For more info, check out the Chicago Sun-Times obituary this morning. -- Jonathan Cunningham

Last Thursday, Lucky Dube's luck ran out.
The South African reggae star was shot dead in a botched carjacking attempt in Johannesburg. Currently, there was no other motive for the killing beyond the carjacking, which was unsuccessful. South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, has appointed a special task force to search for the assailants, but the latest killing just underscores how out of control South African violence is on a daily basis.
Dube (pronounced Doo-Bay) was the first South African reggae star to make an international impact. He recorded 22 albums over his long career including Rasta Never Die, and Slave, his biggest selling album to date. He's recorded with Seal and Peter Gabriel, and was the first South African to perform at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash in 1991.
Dube was just 43 years old and is survived by his wife and seven children.
If you're not familiar with his songs and the magnitude of his star power in South Africa, here's a video for, "Back to My Roots," one of Dube's most popular songs performed in his homeland.
R.I.P. Lucky

-Jonathan Cunningham

No albino python, no making-out with Madonna, not even any making out with a python! Britney Spears' “comeback” performance Sunday on the MTV Video Music Awards, where she performed her new single “Gimme More,” was simply lackluster. It only served as validation that this former pop-princess – who once held the music industry by the balls – now only has a grasp on one of her dancer’s packages. Which you probably missed because it was brief and boring, like a desperate hooker’s plea for a quick $2 blow-job.

Her entire performance, to put it mildly, looked like a dress rehearsal. Britney went through the motions like an aloof robot, remembering her choreography, but seemingly reserving her trademark umph for another time and place. Perhaps this other time and place was 4:20 in Britney-land where magical talking Cheetos drink Red Bull and poop on couture dresses while telling her that she’s still pretty enough to get away with having minimal talent.

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Global news outlets are reporting that the most famous opera singer of our time has passed away. Luciano Pavarotti died at his home in Italy after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71 years old. The king of the high C's and longtime member of the famed Three Tenors was one of the most respected singers of any genre that the world has ever known. He'd been battling with cancer for slightly over a year, and recent news articles reported that his health was getting better. Read more about his passing here. --Jonathan Cunningham

To watch Pavarotti at work...click on the video below

For an even crazier video...check out Pavarotti and James Brown performing together!

New York media is reporting the death yesterday of Hilly Kristal, founder of legendary downtown rock club CBGB, which finally closed last October after a 33-year run. Kristal, 75, had been battling lung cancer. Although Kristal talked of opening a new branch of his club in Las Vegas, the forced shuttering of his baby and the gentrification of its Bowery environs were doubtlessly stressful. Between this and Factory Records' Tony Wilson's passing, it's been a sad month for rock fans. Rest in peace.

Read Newsday's full obituary of Kristal here.

-- Arielle Castillo

Jah Jerry

It's come to the attention of Crossfade that Jerry Hines, founding member of legendary Jamaican group, the Skatalites, has died. The guitarist, who passed away last Monday in a Jamaican hospital, was 80-years-old. Better known as Jah Jerry, Hines helped push the sound of ska forward long before it became popular on a global level. Today, ska groups from Long Beach to Japan are making a living off of the sound because of pioneers like Hines and his Skatalite brethren. The group itself was started in 1964 and featured some legendary musicians such as Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, Jah Jerry, and Jackie Mittoo to name a few. We're not totally sure if Jah Jerry's last name was Hines or Haynes as both surnames seem to be associated with the guitarist. But regardless, it's a loss to the ska world and music world as a whole.
If you're not familiar with the Skatalites sound, the group still exists and tours so check the video below for an updated version of the group with the same, classic sound. --Jonathan Cunningham

The Legendary Max Roach At work

In sad news, great jazz percussionist Max Roach passed away yesterday at the age of 83. He'd been sick for some time according to reports and died on Wednesday in a Manhattan hospital. Roach was one of the well noted innovators of bebop jazz and worked with everyone from Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker to Fab Five Freddy decades later. Most of his contemporaries considered Roach to be peerless when it came to drumming, and if you've ever listened to his recordings with Coleman Hawkins or Charles Mingus or countless other jazz masters, you could hear it for yourselves.
For more on his passing, read the story here.

And if you've never seen or heard his music, here's just a taste of the genius that was, and always will be, the immortal, Max Roach --Jonathan Cunningham

It was hoped to only be a rumor but reports now confirm that legendary rapper KRS-One's step-son, Randy Parker, was found dead. Preliminary reports suspect that Parker committed suicide. Depression and mental illness are believed to be the reason behind the alleged suicide.
Read more about the story here.
The Temple of Hip-Hop finally issued it's own press release yesterday. --Jonathan Cunningham

Yes another rapper is dead... shot down well before his prime. It's a story that hip-hop seemed like it was almost ready to outgrow. There hasn't been a marquis rap homicide since rapper Proof of D-12 died in a hail of bullets in a gritty Detroit afterhours club last year. But as of early this week, Dipset affiliate and mixtape standout Stack Bundles is laying in the morgue, and he didn't die of old age. Dude was just 24. He caught two bullets--one in the head, and one in the neck. And another life is wasted. It's a sad story and, of course, details are still emerging. But what other genre has to deal with this shit so often? Why are rappers proned to getting shot so much, yet the police NEVER solve those cases. The nostalgia is bothering me. Some of us music journalists have covered this story one too many times. When are folks going to wake up and stop shooting each other over drama and verbal conflict? The fact that he was an MC has nothing to do with it.
Check out a particularly moving yet academic write up on it from the Village Voice -- Jonathan Cunningham