Shawty Lo Net Worth

What was Shawty Lo's Net Worth?

Shawty Lo was an American rapper, record producer, and songwriter who had a net worth of $1.5 million. Shawty Lo was best known for being a member of the hip-hop group D4L, which produced hit rap singles such as "Laffy Taffy." Shawty and D4L are credited with popularizing "snap music," a sub-genre of hip-hop that originated in the southern United States during the early 2000s.

Early Years

Carlos Rico Walker, professionally known as Shawty Lo, was born on March 22, 1976, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Carl Walker. Due to his mother's drug addiction and his father's absence, he and his sister were raised by his grandmother. His grandmother died of cancer when he was 17 years old – the same year he fathered his first child. He would go on to father 11 children – nine daughters and two sons by ten different mothers.

As a young man, he engaged in robbery, assault, and drug trafficking and was incarcerated.

Career Beginnings

Shawty Lo entered the public eye in 2003 as one of the founding members of D4L, a hip-hop group made up of Atlanta-based rappers. He also founded their indie record label, D4L Records. The group consisted of Shawty Lo, Fabo, Stoney, and Mook-B and was reportedly self-funded by Shawty. He named the band "D4L" an acronym for "down for life." The group was subsequently signed to another indie record label, Dee Money Entertainment.

Group Success

Shawty Lo and his group D4L released their debut album, "Down for Life," on Atlantic Records on November 8, 2005. The album was the source of many hit singles, including "Laffy Taffy" and "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me," and it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. "Laffy Taffy" brought the group wide acclaim and, in 2007, was included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most downloaded song in the history of music." The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number six on the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart.

Credited with popularizing "snap music" – a sub-genre of hip-hop that originated in the southern United States during the early 2000s – Shawty went on to release a solo single entitled "Dey Know." The song landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and his solo debut album, "Units in the City," soon followed. It featured high-profile rappers such as Gucci Mane, and the album reached number two on the Top Rap Albums chart.

In 2008, Shawty began working on his solo album "Still Got Units," which he had originally intended to call "I Am Carlos" in reference to his birth name. The album was never released, and in 2014, Shawty stated that he was working on a new mix tape to be called "King of Bankhead," which was released the following year.

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Public Dispute

Shawty Lo experienced a series of public feuds with fellow Atlanta rapper Clifford Harris Jr. – professionally known as T.I. These feuds were characterized by theorized "attack" and "defense" songs, such as Shawty Lo's track "Dunn Dunn," which brought into question whether or not T.I. was really from the neighborhood of Bankhead. T.I. responded with the track "What's Up, What's Haapnin." Each rapper's respective fans began feuding at the 2008 Dirty Awards – a hip-hop awards ceremony hosted at the Georgia International Convention Center – and police had to be called in to evacuate the arena with pepper spray, resulting in the event being shut down. However, in 2009, the two rappers performed together during T.I.'s farewell concert at Club Crucial in Bankhead. At that time, they reported that the media had blown their feud out of proportion. The two artists later collaborated on Shawty Lo's song "Roll the Dice."

Reality Television

In 2013, Shawty Lo began working on a future reality television series to be called "All My Babies' Mamas" for the Oxygen Channel. The show was supposed to center on the life of Shawty and his relationships with all the mothers of his children. The idea garnered a great deal of negative attention due to what was regarded as a stereotypical portrayal of African-American families and the glamorization of premarital sex with multiple partners. After a petition to cancel the show was circulated, production was canceled, and the show never aired.

Health Concerns

In 2011, Shawty Lo announced that he had been diagnosed with Diabetes in 2001. That December, he was hospitalized after becoming violently ill due to issues stemming from the condition. Although he claimed that he initially did not want to accept his diagnosis, he later came to terms with the situation and became a public advocate for diabetes awareness. In 2008, he participated in the American Step Out and Walk to Fight Diabetes.

Loss of Parents & Fatal Accident

In 2015, Shawty Lo's mother passed away. The following year, his father died as well. Shawty had been in the process of planning a tribute concert for him when, two weeks after his father's demise, he lost his own life. On the night of September 21, 2016, he was at the black-owned adult entertainment club The Blue Flame Lounge in Atlanta before he and two females left the establishment in his 2016 Audi and headed down Interstate 285. About half an hour later, at 2:00 in the morning, as he attempted to turn off the exit ramp onto Cascade Road in Fulton County, the vehicle struck a tree and flipped over, ejecting the rapper, who suffered fatal blunt force head trauma. The car then burst into flames. The two women were able to extricate themselves and were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Emergency responders pronounced Shawty dead at the scene. His funeral was held at the Jackson Memorial Baptist Church in his hometown of Atlanta. The funeral procession went from the church to the Blue Flame Lounge, where they carried his casket inside to have a moment of silence under the club's lights. Many celebrities were said to have been in attendance, including Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Latto, and Soulja Boy. Shawty is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in College Park, Georgia.

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