| Shawty Lo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carlos Walker |
| Born | 1976 (age 35–36) |
| Genres | Southern hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | D4L, G-Unit |
| Associated acts | D4L |
| Website | www.asylumrecords.com/shawtylo |
Carlos Walker (born 1976), better known by his stage name Shawty Lo, is an American rapper, founder of D4L Records, and member of hip hop group D4L. His first solo album, Units in the City, was released on February 26, 2008. On June 8, 2011 he signed his label D4L Records to 50 Cent's, G-Unit Records.[1][2]
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Walker was raised in the Bowen Homes housing project, located in Bankhead, Atlanta.[3][4] When he was a teenager, he sold drugs and mugged people. By the age of 17, Carlos had fathered his first child, and his grandmother died.[3][4] He now has a total of ten children: eight daughters and two sons.[4]
After a decade of unlawful activities, Walker decided to turn his attention to music and began performing as Shawty Lo. In 2003, Shawty Lo founded D4L Records, with other rappers Fabo, Stuntman and Mook B. His associates are each from different Bankhead housing projects; Bankhead Courts, Hollywood Courts and Perry Homes respectively. The group's debut single "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me" became a local hit in 2004. Lo was convicted of assault and selling cocaine and served a year in prison until July 27, 2005.[2][5] In January 2006, D4L's single "Laffy Taffy" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6]
===2008: Units in the The songs Dey Know and Foolish have both been officially remixed including many famous guest appearances. These include Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Plies, Lil' Wayne, DJ Khaled, Birdman, Rick Ross and Jim Jones. The Foolish video also included cameo appearances from Pitbull, Jadakiss and Ace Hood.
Shawty Lo's second solo album, Bankhead Born & Raised: Carlos is set to be released soon. Artists to be featured include Rick Ross, T-Pain, Lil Kim, Bun B, Nate Butler, Lyfe Jennings, T.I., Lil Wayne, and Gucci Mane. Shawty Lo confirmed that Atlanta, GA, which features Gucci Mane, Ludacris and The-Dream, will be the first single released from the album. The album is also notable for Roll the Dice, a song which marks the end of the beef between himself and rapper T.I.[7]
On June 10, 2011, it was confirmed by both Shawty Lo and Allhiphop.com that he has signed a large deal with G-Unit Records after it was reported they were in talks.[1] Shawty Lo said, "My new situation with G-Unit was just solidified and I got off the phone with 50 yesterday, I just signed a really large deal,” when talking to allhiphop.com. As well as, “Its like a new beginning and all I needed was someone behind me. 50 Cent is a marketing genius and I got my new thing D4L and G-Unit and we going to be working the south and the rest of the world if need be".[8] It was later clarified by Shawty Lo that he had not signed as an artist but instead he had signed his label.
In 2008, Shawty Lo was involved in a highly publicized feud with another Atlanta rapper, T.I. The feud was characterized by Shawty Lo's track "Dunn Dunn", and T.I.'s reply "What Up, What's Haapnin". The song "Dunn Dunn" appears to question T.I.'s roots in Bankhead. The music video for "What Up, What's Haapnin" was shot in Bowen Homes. In an interview, T.I. insisted that his song "No Matter What" was only partially aimed at Shawty Lo.[9]
The feud reached its climax at the November 2008 Dirty Awards where the entourages of both artists clashed during the ceremony, forcing it to be shut down. Two incidents forced police to use pepper-spray and evacuate the audience.[10]
The feud was publicly squashed on March 7, 2009, when Shawty Lo and T.I. appeared on-stage together at Club Crucial in Bankhead, for T.I.'s farewell concert.[11] After this performance, T.I. gave an interview to MTV, in which he stated that the feud with Shawty Lo was exaggerated by the media, and was not a 'beef'.[12] Shawty Lo also made a song Roll the Dice, a song which marks the end of the beef between himself and T.I.[7]
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