It's been 10 years since Paul Wall dropped his classic "Sittin Sideways" hit, and a lot has changed since then. Eminem dyed his hair black (then back to blonde again), Lil Wayne became a hot commodity in the later 2000s and early 2010s, and then Drake suddenly became the (not so official) face of what people thought of when people thought of Houston's hip hop scene. As much as that may or may not be true, Paul Wall took a few years off from the mainstream music scene, but stayed making music for die hard listeners. He made a point for his newest album Slab God to be a big release when it hit; do you think it's measured up to it's hype?
Paul starts off the album on a slow, chilled out note with "Swangin in the Rain". Some heavy bass, jazzy piano and quick high hats help this track set the tone for the rest of what's to come on the album; heavy hitting, slow moving (heavy "drank" and syrup inspired) bangers that make it easy to move to. Other stand out tracks of this nature are the Curren$y and Devin The Dude assisted "Crumble the Satellite", "Ridin Homie" featuring Houston's own Trae The Truth, and "R.I.P Act" featuring C. Stone. Paul featured a wide variety of rappers while staying true to his Houston roots.
Mr. Wall has never been one to NOT shine on these hoes, either. "Shine on Fo's" is a great example of Paul's shining and his ever so enviable glistening lifestyle. The grills, the girls, the syrup and the jewelry all come along with that Houston rapper lifestyle, and Paul makes it sound as good as it ever has on Slab God. You can also hear about Paul's "checklist" of fancy things on the song "Checklist" (who would have thought?).
Paul also pours his heart out into a couple of songs on Slab God. On "Steady Mobbin", Paul discusses a fallen comrade and you can tell by the start of the song which direction Paul is going to take the song in; "This for all the fallen soldiers in the game. Sip in peace. We gone ride for your memory. We steady mobbin." Paul also gives quite a chilling, yet thought provoking line on shootings and the people's perceptions of them; "I wonder if it was worth, whatever they were shooting fo', and to be honest if the cops would had did it we'd be protestin' and lootin' bro." Surely makes you think, doesn't it? "R.I.P Act" is also a nice, slow, soulful jam dedicated to a fallen comrade (or former girlfriend, it's hard to tell).
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
So overall, Paul Wall's album proves that he just might be the true "Slab God". Slab God bangs, has some great features that fit in well where they're asked, and makes you want to "swang" with some "Muddy Cups on Sunset" and "Shine On Fo's" (I thought I was pretty damn cool already, I might just have to move to Houston and check out the scene). Houston's rap scene remains somewhat underground (maybe not underground, but not so much commercial), but Paul's album proves that not only is Houston's hip hop scene timeless, but it proves that Paul Wall is another one of those rare rappers who's music can withstand the test of time.
I certainly got into Big K.R.I.T a lot later than I could have hoped. My first listen of him being his 2013 mix tape King Remembered In Time, and as I listened on to a mix tape that had every type of song, and sounded like he definitely could have sold in stores based on the quality of the songs, one of my select favorites from the tape was one by the name of "Shine On", featuring fellow Houston emcee Bun B. Now I've always been one to get into those heavily slept on rappers very late (probably because they're so heavily slept on), but this K.R.I.T tape led me to buy his debut album Live From The Underground, and I noticed another Bun feature on a song by the name of "Pull Up", also featuring Big SANT. I had never heard a rapper with such a distinguishable voice before, and by that I mean I had never heard someone demand such a presence on a microphone, I was almost sensing the power through the speakers, it was like Bun was in my house rapping along to the beat of these songs, and his style demanded just as much attention as his voice did. After hearing these tracks, I knew I had to hear more, and was moved by what I had found.
Bun B is his name. I really hope you already know, but it's okay if you don't because I can do my best to give the proper introduction. The only way you can properly describe Bernard Freeman is that he is the absolute trillest of them all. He is so trill in fact that he even had the word copyrighted (that's right, the word "trill" has been copyrighted by Bun himself, does it get more trill than that?). Many have debated what the word "trill" means, or who it represents, but the idea behind it has always been a sort of cool and laid back style, and when Rolling Stone magazine asked Bun what it means to be trill, Bun replied "just look at me." It's debatable that southern rap is almost nothing without it's originator, and his influence on rap is just about unmatched, you can hear it almost anywhere you turn on a radio to your local rap station. Bun's influence on not just southern rap, but rap as a whole is clear when you listen to big names like B.o.B, Big K.R.I.T, Trae Tha Truth, Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Ludacris, T.I., Slim Thug, Nelly, and one of the biggest being Toronto's very own (also, October's) Drake (I mention his being from Toronto because even being from an entirely different country you can hear the influence and the homage paid to Bun in his music).
(Seems to be the most Houston-influenced song in Drake's catalog even to this day, especially when you hear him detail a night in Houston towards the end of the track.)(*I do not own this song or the rights to it*)
So what has Bun B really done for hip hop? How has one man defined an entire subgenre inside a genre that is getting more and more broad every day (if you say rap isn't expanding, you're either hating, or you don't listen to it, period.)? While the best place to start to explain this is in the influence you hear in the rappers I listed above, a certain style has been originated by Houston rap as a whole (and many would probably argue that Bun was indeed the originator), and it's called "chopped and screwed". If you haven't heard of this style it's done very heavily by DJ's and most commonly found on remakes of mix tapes. To "chop and screw" a song or a project is to slow it down, make the bass line bump just a little more than it did before, and make it proper for those who "sip on sizzurp" and "lean", and to put it in layman's terms, the people who like to move "just as slowly as the music".
Yes indeed Houston's brand of hip hop is one of the most known yet different types of hip hop there is out there, and Bun B and Pimp C were at the helm of it before Pimp C's unfortunate passing in 2007. That certainly hasn't stopped Bun's hustle though, as he has released 3 albums since then, II Trill in 2008, Trill OG in 2010, and Trill OG: The Epilogue in 2013. Oh yes lots of research went into this, how could I do an entire article on Bun without listening to any more of his music? I certainly enjoyed everything I found. His first album Trill in 2005 was a huge blast from the past listening to, and reminded me of when I first had gotten into hip hop and some of the first artists I remembered hearing on the radio. Yes this album came at a time when southern hip hop reigned supreme, and boasted features from big names like Jeezy, T.I., Ludacris, Ying Yang Twins, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, and basically every southern rapper you could imagine was at the top in 2005.
Overall, Trill OG has to be my favorite Bun album. His hard sound really shines through, and the features fit very well on every track, it's basically Bun's version of The Chronic 2001. A couple of stand out cuts are the Drake features "It's Been A Pleasure" and 'Shut It Down", with Drake doing hooks on both songs and even giving a verse on "Shut It Down," very interesting to hear these tracks as they were right around Drake's come up in 2010 right after his debut album Thank Me Later. Those aren't the only stand out features on the album though, Bun also got an unreleased Tupac verse for the song "Right Now", which also features Trey Songz and Pimp C. Every featured rapper sounds good in perspective of the album, but Bun is no slouch on songs without features, and he proves it on bangers like "Lights, Camera, Action" and "I Git Down 4 Mine". The production is banging in proper Bun fashion as well, perfect to bump in the trunk of your car, and even features a DJ Premier beat on the song "Let Em Know". (Wow, certainly didn't expect to basically just give you an album review there, but if I had to recommend any albums for new Bun fans, Trill OG would certainly be it.)
So needless to say, Bun B makes some pretty great music and his influence on today's generation of rap still shines through strong. Listening to him brings me back, especially his first album, because his style was basically what epitomized rap in the early 2000s, and the younger side of me gets all nostalgic, but saying Bun has made the same music since his debut would be unfair, and pretty inaccurate. Though the concept of his Trill O.G. (which I'm also just realizing means trilogy, clever work Bun) series remained the same throughout all 3 albums, his growth as a rapper and as a person can't be denied, and how could you not change after the death of a close friend, and former Scottie Pippen to his Michael Jordan? No, Bun certainly hasn't been one dimensional at all throughout his career, but I believe there is only one word that could describe him, and I believe we all already know what it is.
