Carlos Walker (born September 13, 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 debut 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.
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.
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.[1][5] In January
2006, D4L's single "Laffy Taffy" reached the top of the
Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6]
[edit] Solo career
[edit] 2008: Units in the City
On February 26, 2008, Shawty Lo's debut album Units in the City
was released. The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 and at
#2 on the Top Rap Albums chart, selling over 160,000 copies to date.
The debut single from the album, Dey Know, charted at #3 on the Hot
Rap Tracks chart. The other two single releases from the album were
Dunn Dunn and Foolish.
The album features famous guest appearances from major label artists.
All featured artists, such as Gucci Mane, hail from the Atlanta area.
Aside from the album-singles, several other tracks have received
heavy underground play, most notably 'Got Em 4 The LO' and 'Lets
Get It'. One of the most notable lyrics include Shawty Lo musing "Einee
menee, mineee, L-O." Got Em 4 The Lo, featuring Gucci Mane and
Stuntman is the only non-single track to have had a music video made
for it.[7]
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.
[edit] 2010-present: Bankhead Born & Raised: Carlos
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.[8]
[edit] Signing To G-Unit Records
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.[2] 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".[9] It was later clarified by
Shawty Lo that he had not signed as an artist but instead he had
signed his label.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] T.I.
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.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12] 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'.[13] Shawty
Lo also made a song Roll the Dice, a song which marks the end of
the beef between himself and T.I.[8]
[edit] Discography
Main article: Shawty Lo discography
Studio albums
2008: Units In The City
2011: Still Got Units
[edit] Awards
BET Hip Hop Awards
2008, Rookie of the Year [Won]
2008, Track of the Year, "Dey Know" [Won]
Ozone Awards
2008, Best Rap Album, Units in the City [Nominated]
2008, Breakthrough Artist [Won]
2008, Club banger of the Year, "Dey Know" [Nominated]
2008, Best Mixtape/Street Album, "I'm Da Man 2" with DJ Scream [Nominated]