Texas rapper Pimp C dies in L.A. hotel

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Texas rapper Chad "Pimp C" Butler, a member of the chart-topping duo UGK (Underground Kingz), died in a Los Angeles hotel room on Tuesday, officials said. He was 33.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said detectives were investigating the death of a "male black adult" at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood. The cause of death was unknown.

Butler's Jive Records label issued a statement mourning "the unexpected loss." It did not indicate what had happened leading up to his death. A spokeswoman said no one had any details.

The Web site TMZ.com broke the news, reporting that Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel discovered Butler dead in his bed after responding to a 911 call.

UGK, in which Butler performed with Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, topped the U.S. pop album charts in August with "Underground Kingz," its first entry on the survey in five years. Pimp C spent much of that time in prison, serving nearly four years for aggravated assault. He was paroled in 2005.

Butler, who was born in Port Arthur, Texas, formed UGK with Freeman when they were in high school. They signed with Jive in 1992 and released eight albums for the label.

"He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront," Jive president and CEO Barry Weiss said.

Jive is a unit of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Patricia Reaney)