Pimp C dies

Why it matters

Pimp C's death at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood on December 4, 2007, was officially ruled the result of codeine and promethazine cough-syrup consumption combined with pre-existing sleep apnea. The combination is a known cardiopulmonary risk. Codeine slows breathing. Sleep apnea stops it. Together, in someone sleeping in a hotel bed, the combination can be fatal. It was for Pimp. The death came two years and seven months after he had been released from prison on a 2002 assault conviction. He had been making UGK records again with Bun B for the entire post-prison period. The 2007 self-titled UGK album, including "International Players Anthem" with OutKast (one of the most beloved Southern rap singles of the late 2000s), had come out six months before his death. He was 33. He had just released some of the best records of his career and was on tour supporting them when he died. Bun B has spent the seventeen years since carrying UGK as a solo project. You can hear how Pimp's voice operated against Bun's voice on any UGK record. The dynamic does not work without both of them. You only get one half now.