Most people will tell you that Houston rappers are overall a peaceful bunch, but people do carry guns. No less a beloved figure than Pimp C was caught after he got into an altercation at the Foot Locker in Sharpstown Mall; supposedly a policeman saw a gun under Pimp's coat during the fight, followed him to his car and arrested him.

It's an unfortunate fact that many of the biggest names in Houston rap history have been caught up in some kind of gun-related drama during their careers. Sometimes it ends tragically, like this morning's deaths of Poppa C and Dinky D of the Assholes by Nature family, associates of Trae tha Truth -- who was wounded, and is groggy but OK, his publicist tells us -- outside the Diamond Club in Southwest Houston. Sometimes, thankfully, the results are a little more benign.

T.O.Y.

May 4, 2012

Notes: Toyurean Young, 20, of the Alief-area trio FDAB (Fly Den a Bitch), was shot in the parking lot of a southwest Houston McDonalds and later died at Ben Taub Hospital. A few days later, his former bandmate Jordan Wilson was arrested in Corpus Christi. Witnesses told HPD that Wilson, who left FDAB to join rival group KREAM, was jealous of his former group's increasing popularity.

Related: "Rap Feud Turns Deadly In Southwest Houston"

"Suspect Arrested In May 4 Rap Shooting"

MONEY CLIP D

November 25, 2011

Notes: ABN's Money Clip D, aka Dominic Brown, was shot while sitting in a car outside southwest Houston after-hours club Breakers. He has been described as Trae's "right-hand man," and had been helping him distribute Thanksgiving turkeys the night before he was shot. An investigator at the scene of Poppa C and Dinky D's death Wednesday morning said a witness told him their deaths

Related: "Angel By Nature: Rest In Peace Clip D"

TRAE DAY

July 22, 2009

The second annual free concert at Texas Southern University was organized and paid for by Trae himself, featured Bun B, Mannie Fresh, Rick Ross, Yung Joc and Slim Thug (among others), and was even officially proclaimed "Trae Day" by Houston City Council. Late in the evening, shots rang out and several people were injured, none life-threateningly.

A 19-year-old man turned himself into police about a month later, and Trae Day continued on at Northwest Mall in 2010 and Delmar Stadium last year. Trae Day 2012 has been scheduled July 22 back at Northwest Mall.

Related: "Breaking News: Gunplay at Trae Day"

"Aftermath: Trae Day (Pre-Shooting) at TSU Stadium"

BIG H.A.W.K.

May 1, 2006

Notes: The gentle, outsized "Five Star General" and icon of the Screwed Up Click, born John Hawkins, was shot in front of a friend's house at only age 36. Supposedly Hawkins had gone to play dominoes, but his friend wasn't home and H.A.W.K. was shot while looking in a side window. His killer(s) has/have never been found.

Related: "Six Years Gone: Big Hawk Remembered"

"Five Spot: Remembering "Five Star General" Big Hawk"

FAT PAT

February 3, 1998

Younger brother of Big H.A.W.K., Patrick Hawkins, or "Fat Pat," was another founding Screwed Up Click member gone too soon, only age 27. Featured on the SUC landmark "25 Lighters," Pat was shot after he went to a promoter's apartment to collect an appearance fee (the promoter wasn't home), another unsolved murder. Both his first album, Ghetto Dreams, and the hit song featuring him, "Wanna Be a Baller," were released after his death.

Related: "Five Spot: 25 Lighters for Fat Pat"

BUSHWICK BILL

May 1991

Notes: For one of many reasons (the story is at spinner.com), the diminutive Geto Boys rapper begged his then-girlfriend to shoot him during an argument. She refused, a struggle ensued, the gun went off, and the resulting photo of Bill being into the Ben Taub ER on a gurney became the cover of the Geto Boys' landmark album We Can't Be Stopped.

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