Music World, NBA Stars Mourn Leah LaBelle and Husband, Rasual Butler

Music World, NBA Stars Mourn Leah LaBelle and Husband, Rasual Butler
NBA player Rasual Butler (L) and singer Leah LaBelle attend The BET Players' Awards at the Rio Hotel & Casino, July 19, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for BET)
Chris Jasurek
2/1/2018
Updated:
2/1/2018

Stars from the music industry and the NBA are all in shock after losing a beloved couple with ties to both groups.

Singer Leah LaBelle and NBA star Rasual Butler were in a high-speed traffic accident in downtown Los Angeles around 2:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31, the New York Daily News reported.

Butler was at the wheel of his 2011 Range Rover and traveling at a high rate of speed down Ventura Boulevard through Studio City. He lost control and plowed down a trio of parking meters before slamming into a concrete wall and flipping, before coming to rest in a shopping center parking lot.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced both Butler and LaBelle dead at the scene.

NBC Los Angeles quoted the Los Angeles police as saying the vehicle was traveling two or three times the posted limit.

Beloved  in the Music Community

Leah LaBelle, 31, was an R&B singer recording for Epic Records.
She came to fame on the 2014 edition of “American Idol,” where she finished 12th but showed enough talent to get a job as a backup singer for 2007 “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks, the New York Daily News reported.

LaBelle worked with super-producer Pharrell Williams and also recorded for Andreao Heard.

Her death reverberated though the pop music community.

Fantasia Barrino, winner of the third season of “American Idol,” honored her fallen friend.

A Consummate Pro With the Right Attitude

Rasual Butler, 38, was in the waning years of a 13-year career in the NBA. He played for eight different teams in that time and impressed everyone with his work ethic, his personality, and his positive attitude.

Players from across the league turned to social media to express their feeling of loss and sorrow.

Alan Iverson and Dwyane Wade both posted on Twitter.

“The world just lost a great dude,” Wade tweeted.

Marcin Gortat of the Washington Wizards also tweeted his regrets.

Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors tweeted, “True legend in my eyes !!!”

The Indiana Pacers organizations also posted a statement mourning Butler and his wife.

Recommended Video:

Kayaker Rescues Iguana Swimming Miles From Shore