Earlier today, Atlanta's own Shawty Lo was killed in a tragic car accident, leaving behind a legacy of being at the forefront of the snap movement in hip-hop and and his eleven children. Being a true legend of Bankhead, a number of hip-hop stars both from Atlanta and outside of the city have already showed love for Shawty via social media, as did fellow rapper Fabo, who was a member of D4L and a longtime friend of Shawty's.
Dear God, take care of my brother. #BankheadlegendShawty 👽 The realest ever created
Back in January, we caught up with Fabo for the 10-year anniversary of D4L's Billboard smash "Laffy Taffy," and today we got a chance to briefly speak with Fabo to remember what the man meant to D4L and Bankhead, Atlanta in general.
First off, I want to give my condolences on Shawty Lo's passing. Where were you when you heard that he had passed away?
I was just getting up and my mom called me, then I got on social media and I looked at one of the radio personalities [say it] and I knew it was forreal. It’s a sad day, man.
It’s crazy. When we interviewed you earlier this year, you mentioned that everybody in D4L was still pretty close and that you were still working on music with Shawty Lo. Do you remember the last time you spoke with him?
Yeah, I spoke with him yesterday.
Oh wow.
I was on him about a song that we did. You know, we just gotta cherish every moment with people and I just remember him texting me back saying "I love you, cuz" and then sending the song, so that was crazy.
I don’t have a big brother, my big brother, my hero. We lost a real soldier today.
Do you have any unreleased material with Shawty that's just sitting in the vaults?
We collabed with a lot of music, you know. Shawty stayed connected and stayed working with each other but you know we got a lot of music together.
I know it's early, but have you had any thoughts about putting any of that material out?
Nah, I literally haven’t [even] spoken to the family members. I congregated with the group and the manager. We hung out and just consoled each other. I think they’re playing a memorial later on, right now [we're] just respecting the family and just trying to keep it positive.
I know you guys had history. When did you and Shawty actually first meet?
We used to be at school and he used to come give us water when we was out in the band and all of that stuff. To me as a young kid he’s always been my hero.
The story’s been that he was the one that really funded D4L and got things moving.
Yeah. He was everything to us. From giving me somewhere to stay myself [to] setting a lot of the stuff up [to] building us a studio and telling us it was possible. [He was] putting into it everything he had to get it done. And when he got incarcerated, we didn’t stop, and he was just there when he got out. We just wanted to get out.
There were a bunch of different heads in the hip-hop community that were showing love and appreciation for Shawty today. Has anybody reached out to you specifically?
I’m just friends with a lot of people in the hip-hop community and everybody’s basically reached out. Atlanta is a small, tight-knit community, so you know everybody kind of knows everybody. Word spreads fast around here.
This is just a bad day man. I never expected anything like this to happen. I don’t have a big brother, my big brother, my hero. We lost a real soldier today.
What are some of your fondest memories of Shawty Lo?
[Just] from being young and watching him. The apartments used to have these basketball courts in the back and one of the first memories that I got is coming to one of these events. Shawty Lo put all the neighborhood together and he got them out there playing basketball against each other. That was just crazy, how he could bring a lot of people together.
[Also,] if you went to sleep [around him,] more than likely you were going to wake up with some hot sauce or something or ketchup on your face, [or] he'd put something in your hand make you rub your face, your hair. It was just always fun, everyday, all day.
You mentioned there’s going to be some type of memorial going on. Is that more of a family thing?
Yeah. The day is basically Shawty Lo Day now. You can definitely believe that. On Bankhead, what Shawty Lo used to call Ocean Drive. You know, like little Miami to Shawty Lo---so yah, the day basically is Shawty Lo Day.
I hear you. Is there anything else you want the people to know about Shawty?
Like I said, the world lost a great man today, a great father to his kids, a great family man. He was a real one–genuine, genuine all the way to his core. That’s just basically it man, that’s all anybody can say about him. He was just genuine.
