UGK (short for
Underground Kingz) was an American
hip hop duo from
Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by the late
Chad "Pimp C" Butler and
Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first
major-label album
Too Hard to Swallow, in 1992, followed by several other albums charting on the
Billboard 200 and
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, including the self-titled
Underground Kingz album, which debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, in August 2007. The duo has also been featured on hit singles by several other artists, such as on "
Big Pimpin'" by
Jay-Z and "
Sippin' on Some Syrup" by
Three 6 Mafia. Pimp C founded
UGK Records in late 2005. On December 4, 2007,
Pimp C was found dead in a
West Hollywood, California hotel room.