‘Laffy Taffy’ Rapper Shawty Lo Dies in Fiery Car Crash After Visiting Strip Club, Leaves Behind 11 Children

staff@people.com (Jordan Runtagh)
Updated

Atlanta rapper Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker died in a car accident in Fulton County, Georgia on Wednesday morning. He was 40 years old. The artist had been member of the hip hop collective D4L, whose song “Laffy Taffy” was a No. 1 hit in 2006.

The death was first reported by radio personality Headkrack, before being confirmed by manager Johnnie Cabbell on the late rapper’s Twitter account. “My brother has passed,” he wrote. “He is no longer here but his spirit, his kind heart and his music will live on. Long live Shawty Lo King of Bankhead.”

Though the crash was originally reported as a hit-and-run, police later told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was a single-car accident. Shawty Lo had been relaxing at an Atlanta-area strip club earlier in the night, posting videos from the venue to social media.

According to reports, Shawty Lo left the club and was heading south on I-285 when he lost control of his white 2016 Audi around 2:20 a.m. The vehicle crashed through a guard rail, slammed into a pair of trees, and then burst into flames.

Shawty Lo was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. Two passengers were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Cabbell continued to mourn in a post shared to Instagram. “I am so so so devastated that words can not describe how I feel right now,” he captioned an image of Shawty Lo at a white grand piano. “Shawty Lo was not just my artist he was my Brother He was My Friend. I have been Lo MGR for over 10 [years]. He was Loyal and he had my back when no one else did. I could count on him when I had no one else to turn to. We been thru so much together. If you knew Lo, then you know he was genuine. He was Real.”

I am so so so devastated that words can not describe how I feel right now. Shawty Lo was not just my artist he was my Brother He was My Friend. I have been Lo MGR for over 10yrs He was Loyal and he had my back when no one else did. I could count on him when I had no one else to turn to. We been thru so much together. If you knew Lo then you know he was genuine He was Real he would do anything he could if he had it. I Genuinely love this man like my blood brother. I Will Keep His Name Alive and and His Music !!!! Please Pray for Us The Whole D4L Family Lo Family His Mom His Kids His Children Mothers We need you all prayers and Support !!!!!!

A photo posted by Johnnie Cabbell (@johnniecabbell) on Sep 21, 2016 at 4:24am PDT



Shawty Lo leaves behind 11 children with 10 different women. In 2013 he filmed a reality show about his family life entitled All My Babies’ Mamas. Slated to air on the Oxygen network, it was ultimately shelved due to controversy over the program’s premise.