Shawty Lo has died aged 40.
The rapper – whose real name is Carlos Walker – was killed in a car crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning (22.09.16) after his motor came off a freeway near south-west Atlanta, hit trees and burst into flames.
Fulton County police corporal Maureen Smith said the driver, Shawty, was thrown from the car and killed, and two female passengers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
There were initial reports of a possible hit and run but it later emerged just one car was involved.
Several stars have paid tribute to Shawty – who had 11 children from 10 women – including 50 Cent, whose record company the rapper had worked with.
He tweeted: "My condolences to his family, he had a lot of mouths to feed (sic)"
Ludacris wrote: "RIP to a real one"
Shawty’s manager Johnnie Cabell tweeted from the rapper’s official Twitter account to confirm his death.
The tweet read: "My brother has passed he is no longer here but his spirit, his kind heart , and his music will live on Long live Shawty Lo King of Bankhead"
Johnnie also paid tribute to his pal as a "legend" and admitted he is trying to find out what caused the crash.
He told The Guardian newspaper: "He was a good person. He was a friend. Lo was a legend – he is definitely going to be missed.
"We are trying to find out what happened."
Shortly before the crash, Shawty had been promoting his new single in strip club Blue Flame in Atlanta.
His father died earlier this month and the funeral took place on Saturday (17.09.16).
Johnnie added: "He left 11 kids behind and he took care of all of them. He had just lost his father, and now he goes. We are just praying for his mother."
Shawty formed group DL4 in 2003, and had solo hits with the likes of ‘Dey Know’.
Shawty Lo dead at 40
