Atlanta-born trap rapper Shawty Lo, born as Carlos Walker, rose to fame not through his street-hustling lyrics but by introducing the ‘snap dance’ trend with the chart-topping track ‘Laffy Taffy’ as part of the four-member crew, D4L, in 2005. Despite his initial plan to work behind the scenes, Shawty Lo co-founded D4L and D4L Records in 2003. The group’s first single, ‘Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me,’ foreshadowed their crossover success in Georgia in 2004. However, before witnessing this triumph, Shawty Lo faced legal troubles, serving a one-year prison term on drug charges. Upon his release in July 2005, ‘Laffy Taffy’ climbed the charts, setting records in digital and ringtone sales and propelling D4L into the limelight. Shawty Lo, gaining confidence in his own rap skills, released his solo piece ‘I’m da Man’ from the Down for Life album locally in 2006. Subsequently, after collaborating on mixtapes with DJ Scream, he signed a record deal with Asylum in 2007, unveiling his debut album, ‘Units in the City,’ the following year. The album’s lead single, ‘Dey Know,’ made waves in the hip-hop and R&B charts. Over the years, Shawty Lo remained active with numerous mixtape drops and groundwork for his next album, ‘Still Got Units.’ Tragically, on September 21, 2016, Shawty Lo passed away in a fatal hit-and-run incident outside an Atlanta nightclub at the age of 40.