In his 2015 book, Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA, he mentions that in his early years, he had to prove himself on the streets as a drug dealer and a gang member.
A life in the ghetto is not easy, and Butler has experienced it first-hand. He has seen his friends killed, gang fight, and was arrested 15 times before the age of 15.
Becoming successful from the ghetto is rough, but it has been done before.