Initial reports from the L.A. Coroner's office indicate that Pimp C’s untimely death may have been from natural causes. According to the Houston Chronicle, the rapper’s body was discovered by security in his room early Tuesday morning at the Beverly Hills Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Blvd. Concerned family members notified the hotel after the rapper failed to check out on time and they had not heard from him. Capt. Ed Winter of the L.A. Coroner’s office told website TMZ.com that Pimp, whose real name was Chad Butler, was fully clothed and lying on top of his bed when paramedics arrived. Winter noted that no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the room and there was no sign of any accident that may have caused his death. "At this time there's no signs of foul play," Winter told the Chronicle. "It appears to be possibly natural, but pending autopsy and toxicology we can't say the cause." Those test results could take up to six to eight weeks to come back. Despite the lack of evidence indicating foul play, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that they would be moving forward with an investigation, which is standard procedure in circumstances such as these.

Pimp had checked into the Mondrian last Wednesday (November 28) and performed alongside Too $hort at the House of Blues over the weekend. Pimp’s death has understandably hit the city of Houston particularly hard. Although the fallen rapper and his partner Bun B hail from nearby Port Arthur, they have long been credited with helping to establish the vibrant Hip-Hop scene in H-Town. "It's a sad day in the city," Mike Jones told the Chronicle. "A legend has passed." 2007 had been a particularly notable year for UGK, with their latest album, Underground Kingz, receiving extensive critical acclaim and debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 charts. “As one half of the legendary Texas group UGK, Chad was finally seeing the results of the years of love and labor that he and Bun B have put in over the years, culminating in the tremendous success of their album, Underground Kingz,” Pimp’s manager Rick Martin said in a statement. “Chad was set to soar with not only a new solo deal on Jive Records, but a lucrative publishing deal, a new satellite radio show, several group projects and a national cologne endorsement. Chad had everything to live for, making his unexpected passing a travesty.”

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