Chad Butler loved Port Arthur. And Thursday, Port Arthur returned the love while laying its native son to rest. About 1,800 people laughed, cried and got on their feet and yelled “Amen!” as they remembered the life of Butler, more commonly known as rap star Pimp C.

Butler’s send-off at the Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center hit a high note, with speakers focusing more on the joy of having known him than the pain of his loss.  

No one did this more staunchly than Butler’s mother, Weslyn “Mama Wes” Monroe. Monroe spoke simply, calmly and from the heart.

“I’m all right, and you’re all right, because he’s all right,” Monroe said. “My C is free today. My C is celebrating today. My C is happy to see you today. He’s all right and you need not worry about him – because Jesus is all right!”

The Rev. John Adolph gave a rousing eulogy that ended with an invitation to the crowd to gather close around Butler’s casket for a prayer. Adolph made no bones about the fact he had a little trouble at first with Butler’s nickname. He didn’t sidestep the issue.

Before he’d fairly begun his eulogy, Adolph made a startling comment. He even had the mourners repeat it after him: “It’s hard out here for a pimp!” The auditorium burst into gales of surprised laughter.

Adolph, who was quoting from a song written for the film “Hustle and Flow,” explained when he first learned Butler had recently become a member of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and he was called upon to do a eulogy, he was at a loss. “It pushed me to my prayer closet, because I didn’t know how to handle it,” Adolph said.

But after studying the works of a linguist and reflecting on the way words change meaning over time, Adolph decided to embrace the term. As “crack” used to mean a hole in the sidewalk and “weed” was something your mama made you pull out of the ground in the heat of the day, “pimp” no longer exclusively is the domain of shady ladies and their handlers.

As the television show “Pimp My Ride” used the term in the sense of taking the mundane and making it extraordinary, Adolph came to understand that Butler was making a different statement with his in-your-face moniker. “It’s not about having some sister out on the corner,” Adolph said. “It’s about a way to live large.”

It was also a way to express scrambling to survive on the mean streets. “You have to find a way to come up and it ain’t easy – and if that’s what pimping is, he’s not the only one in here doing it,” he added.

For his part, Jeff Sledge of Jive records, the label UGK had been with since the mid-’90s, said he always made a point of calling Butler by his given name, Chad. Sledge wanted to make sure he acknowledged the whole person, not just the rap persona.

Over the years, Sledge grew to know Butler well and saw him change and grow. The biggest change he saw was after Butler was released from prison in 2005 after serving about three years for aggravated assault. Sledge was impressed with Butler’s demeanor after his release. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone changed that much. He had an inner calm. He used his situation to change and grow. … It was an amazing thing to see.”

Sledge said Butler had Grammy dreams in his last year, and prophesied UGK’s nomination. “He knew it – he kept saying all through the (recording) process, ‘We’re going to the Grammy’s, man – I know it.’ And he was right,” Sledge said.

UGK’s hit “International Players Anthem” was nominated Dec. 6 for the Grammy’s Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Not many artists have the pride of place Butler had, Sledge said. The rapper wore his love for Port Arthur on his sleeve.

Butler’s devotion to his hometown was noted by a number of speakers. “Chad was always very proud of the City of Port Arthur,” said Port Arthur Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince. “Wherever he traveled, he expressed his love of his hometown.”

Prince’s voice broke with emotion as she spoke and read a resolution honoring Butler. “His memories will forever be cherished,” she said.

Source:
The Beaumont Enterprise