Posted January 14, 2007 -- As fans of hip-hop are well aware, Chad “Pimp C” Butler’s untimely death was a great loss for Texas hip-hop and beyond. But none took the loss more personally than his UGK bandmate, Bernard “Bun B” Freeman. The Port Arthur, TX based duo were basking in the glow of critical acclaim for their latest CD, UGK Underground Kingz and its hit song and video “International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)” with Outkast. But in December, Butler, who’d spent three years in jail on aggravated gun assault charge, was found dead in his Los Angeles hotel room, leaving Bun and their many fans in shock. (The cause of death won’t be known for several weeks.) In a bittersweet honor, a few days later UGK was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for Duo or Group for “International Players’s Anthem.” We sat down with Bun B recently in an exclusive interview to talk about the loss and what comes next for UGK.
BET.com: So, how are you doing?
Bun B: I’m doing OK, maintaining. It’s a daily thing. Today’s a good day, tomorrow might be a little harder than today. Definitely stay prayed up, because you never know where you’re going to head emotionally.
Have you really had a chance to even process things?
No, I’m still trying to wrap my head around certain parts of it. Because there are still certain parts of my life that incorporated him that I haven’t gone back to. I still haven’t recorded yet, I still haven’t performed yet. I know that these things are going to be rough. When he went to prison, doing the first show with him being locked up was very strange, very weird. It almost felt wrong to a certain extent. And I get that kind of vibe now. Eventually, I’m going to have to get back up on that stage, so we’re getting everything rolling. I just started writing again, so I’m feeling comfortable in that. So we’re going to go in and lay some things and try a concert next month in Houston to let the fans celebrate the Grammy thing and just keep it moving.
How long did you and Chad know each other?
Twenty years. Before we did music together, before we actually recorded music together, we were fans of music together. Most of our life experiences as men - we shared them together. We went through a lot of the same things at the same time. There were a lot of parallels that we had in life and because of that, there were a lot of parallels that we expected to have further on in life. To see his timeline stop and mind kind of keep going, it’s kind of strange in itself. But his memory is going to live on. So in the physical sense, he may not be here, but he’s definitely here -- his spirit and legacy and essence – you know?
READ ON AS BUN B GIVES ADVICE TO OTHERS IN GRIEF, AND TALKS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF UGK.