Walter McCallon, 37, also known as Tre-8 died in a hospital after a car accident on Tullis and Woodland drives in Louisiana. His daughter, two nieces, a nephew and the mother of his children were in the car with him at the time, and are all in the hospital.
McCallon attended L.B. Landry and O. Perry Walker high schools on the West Bank. He played in both schools' marching bands, experimenting with snare, tenor drum, French horn and trumpet, but found his real musical calling in hip-hop.
In his early teens, McCallon became a backup dancer for Bennett, the rapper and producer known as Ice Mike, who produced early New Orleans hip-hop artists including Bust Down and Joe Blakk. At Bennett's home studio, he learned engineering and production skills that led him to work producing tracks for the West Bank indie label Slaughterhouse Records while still in high school.
McCallon recorded his first songs as a teenage rapper alongside Tim Smooth as a member of the group Westbank Coalition in 1993. At 16, he became one of the first artists signed to Master P's newly minted No Limit records label. His debut (and only release) for No Limit, "Ghetto Stories," came out in 1995, characterized by his signature raspy vocals and exaggerated horror-movie and gangsta themes cut with a dark sense of humor.
After his departure from No Limit, he continued to produce other artists and record his own material for local independent outfits like South Coast Music Group and his own imprints, Smoke 1 Records and Purple Haze Prodctions.
In March 2011, he released "Black & Purple" with the group Dem Haze Boyz, his first album since 2008's "Most Underrated."
R.I.P. Tre-8, A true N.O. Legend
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