PORT ARTHUR, Texas -- Thousands of family and friends said farewell Thursday to Pimp C, whose raspy Southern drawl and raw lyrical prowess attracted legions of fans.

The funeral for Pimp C, who was born Chad Butler, began at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Robert A. Bowers Civic Center in his southeast Texas hometown, but people were still lined up to pass through security nearly two hours later.

Pimp C, one-half of the trailblazing rap duo Underground Kingz, was found dead in the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles on Dec. 4. He was 33.

Officials said he apparently died in bed and there were no signs of foul play. Autopsy and toxicology results weren’t yet available.

UGK laid the groundwork for the unprecedented success of Southern rap in this decade, and countless rap superstars name the group as a major influence.

“Without him we wouldn’t be where we are,” Rap-A-Lot boss J Prince said. “I tell everybody, Pimp was Tupac to the South. We probably loved him even more than the West Coast loved ‘Pac.  Everybody that’s rapping today is imitating Pimp.”

The funeral in the small city on the Texas-Louisiana border attracted a heavy police presence, including FBI agents. It also attracted Pimp C’s fellow rappers, including Bun B, Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones and Willie D of the Geto Boys. The Houston Rockets’ Steve Francis also attended, as did Bishop Don Juan, a self-described pimp and spiritual adviser to the stars.

Don Juan arrived just minutes before the ceremony ended, causing a stir as he sauntered down the aisle with an entourage of women, scantily glad in gold and red while the pastor gave a fire-and-brimstone sermon. He was holding a pimp cup and wore a foot-tall crown and a blue velvet cape.

One rapper, C-Murder, wasn’t among them. He was on house arrest in Louisiana while awaiting retrial on a murder charge, and on Tuesday, a judge denied his request to attend the services.  C-Murder is a brother of Master P who had collaborated with Pimp C.

“You hear so many southern artists and hear their styles and the influence that Pimp C and Bun B had on the whole culture,” Chamillionaire said. “We’re created off of them. It’s a very, very big loss to the hip hop community and you are going to see the impact globally.”

The religious ceremony also included the reading of a resolution by the mayor of Port Arthur and remembrances by Jeff Sledge of Jive Records and Pimp C’s mother Weslyn Monroe.

Flanked by two oversized banners adorned with pictures of Pimp C, Monroe talked about him going to heaven and associated her only child with Tupac, who died in 1996.

“He’s up there and he told them the Soooouth is here,” she said in her best imitation of her son’s Southern drawl to thunderous applause. “He told ‘Pac to take a break because C got it for now.”

She urged aspiring rappers to follow their dreams of stardom, insisting that is what would make Pimp C happy.

The classically trained Pimp C was not only a rapper, but also produced most of UGK’s music and would occasionally sing in the group’s songs.

Pimp C and Bun B formed UGK in the late 80s and had the first of six major label releases in 1992. Despite an almost fanatical following in Texas and the south and the critical acclaim of their 1996 album “Ridin’ Dirty,” mainstream success evaded the duo for the majority of their 15-year career.

Still, Bun B’s witty and thoughtful lyrics with Pimp C’s almost hypnotic beats and over-the-top delivery on themes of sex, money and drugs in a seductive drawl were an irresistible combination to many.

The group seemed to be on the cusp of gaining nationwide attention before Pimp C was sent to prison for a probation violation stemming from an aggravated assault charge in 2002.

Though the duo couldn’t make any music while he was locked up, it was then that UGK’s popularity soared as rappers and fans across the country made “Free Pimp C” their rallying call.

Pimp C was released from prison in December 2005 and immediately went to work on his second solo album “Pimpalation,” which sold more than 500,000 copies.

Then came 2007. UGK notched their first No. 1 album thanks in large part to the soulful single “International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You),” featuring Outkast.

The song, and its accompanying video, showed Pimp C at his brash and uncompromising best. Draped in a floor-length white fur coat, matching hat and crisp white suit, he managed to touch on women, money, expensive cars and outdoing a rival in his 30-second verse.

Two days after Pimp C’s death, the single garnered UGK their first Grammy nomination in the category of best performance by a rap duo or group. They appeared on Jay Z’s hit “Big Pimpin”’ which was nominated in 2001, but this was the first nod for their work.

Sledge said Pimp C told him even before they finished the song that he was going to get a Grammy for it.

“When I found out (about the Grammy) I was alone in my house and tears just started flowing down my face,” Sledge said. “Man, he knew it. He kept saying it. He knew this was it.”

The ceremony lasted almost two hours and fans continued to remember Pimp C as they left and the sounds of dueling UGK songs streamed out the windows of cars trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

“He never let anyone forget that he was a Texas boy,” Sledge said. “It was all about P.A. (Port Arthur). He was going to carry this city on his back. I’d never heard of this place before I met him.”