Next Up!
Bun-B
“Trill”
October 18, 2005Featuring:Pimp C , Z-RO, Young Jezzy, Jay-Z, LIL KeKe, Mannie Fresh, Slim Thug, Ludacris, Scarface, Jazze Pha, Trey Songs, Mike Jones, Baby,TI, Ying Yang Twins, Too Short, Juvenile, Lil Flip, Chamillionare & Aztek
Zitat:
Until recently, there were only a few MC’s from Texas who would get any sort of shine outside the borders of their nation-sized republic. Few meaning three. One of course would be Scarface, who with his group the Geto Boys laid the initial foundation for the phenomenon that is southern rap. Two would have to be Devin the Dude, a laid back artist who crossed over to the edge of the mainstream with his work with Dr. Dre, De La Soul and The Roots. And three would have to be UGK, the group that inspired an entire region to take the rap game seriously.
Before UGK hit the scene in the early 90’s, the pickins were slim for folks looking for authentic hip-hop in the south. The southeast was overtaken with party rockin’ booty music, Texas was known for the Geto Boys almost exclusively and the bounce scene in Louisiana hadn’t yet been noticed nationally.
Hailing from Port Arthur, Texas, the Underground Kings, UGK for short, brought the major labels to the state back in the summer of 1991. Rappers Bun B and Pimp C – who also handled the production for the duo and set all new standards for beatmaking in the south – had been dabbling in the rap game in other groups throughout the 80’s. However when they clicked up, they created a sound so powerful that the entire music industry had to listen.
“We had labels that like, aren’t even around anymore,” Bun B explains from his new home on the south side of Houston, “like Select Records, Priority Records, we had all the labels calling for us at that time. Our first tape sold 40-50,000 copies independently, and there wasn’t even a movement for that type of shit. We were selling gangsta music independently. So the labels had their little bidding war going on, and we played hardball with all of them until Jive came with what seemed like the best deal.”
Their first tape, The Southern Way contained the monster hit, “Tell Me Something Good,” that borrowed heavily from the Rufus and Chaka Khan hit of the same name. That single, released by Russell Washington’s Big Tyme Records – a label and also a record shop in Houston’s King’s Flea Market – was first heard on a Houston radio contest called Houston Home Jams. Over the course of two weeks, the song dominated the contest, but UGK was disqualified when their label began pressing up the single and selling it.