CALL THEM THE KINGZ

For the past couple of days, I have been deep in a serious new music vortex. With the exception of a couple of albums that made me want to throw my speakers out the damn window, it has been a beautiful time for my ears. I would start one album, feel something, write through it, and before I could even finish that thought, another record would begin and pull something else out of me. I was caught in this beautiful creative loop, writing as I listened and listening as I wrote. It reminded me of how connected my spirit is to sound and how necessary music has always been to the way I process the world.

Quick side note, that little phrase I love using so much — “and so on and so on and so on” — did not originate with Outkast on “Morris Brown” like a lot of people think. It actually comes from an old TV commercial I remember vividly. Funny how those little phrases stick to your ribs like soul food. At the end of this unexpected journey, I looked up and realized I had written about five albums in one sitting: UGK’s Underground Kingz, Zap Mama’s Supermoon, Keith Murray’s RapMurrPhobia, Common’s Finding Forever, and Alice Smith’s For Lovers, Dreamers & Me.

But once I had everything down, I realized nobody wants to read five album reviews in one shot. That is a lot to ask of even the most devoted readers. So I decided to slow it down. One album a day, for the next five days. Each entry will come with a sample and a video to give you not just words, but the sounds that sparked them. Below is the first, the one that kicked this whole thing off, UGK’s Underground Kingz.

I just finished blasting UGK’s latest double album Underground Kingz for the third time, and it moved me enough to write this with a full heart. If I am being honest, I was never a hardcore UGK fan. I respected their legacy, their cultural footprint, and their early southern pioneering long before the South had the global microphone. But they never fully resonated with me. I put them in the same class as Scarface, and if you know me, you know how much weight that carries, but it had more to do with reverence than rotation.

That changes now. With this release, I have no choice but to reevaluate their place in my personal Hip Hop canon. This album is not just a reintroduction, it is a reminder. A southern odyssey that feels both historic and immediate.

I had the album for a while before I pressed play. Like so many others, I was caught up in the brilliance of the first single “International Players Anthem,” but if we are keeping it one hundred, that was mostly because of the holy monogamy SLAP DOWN that Andre “Feature Killer” 3000 delivered on the opening verse. That verse stopped time. It made people refer to the track as an Andre 3000 song featuring UGK and Big Boi. RESPECT THAT MANS GANGSTA. Greatest rapper of the year off five fucking features. Not even full projects. Just cameos. WATCH WHATS ABOUT TO GO DOWN WITH HIS NEW RAP ALBUM. The other four were:

Lloyd ft. Andre 3000 and Nas “I Want You” (Remix)
Rich Boy ft. Andre 3000, Jim Jones, Nelly, Murphy Lee, and The Game “Throw Some Ds” (Remix)
Devin the Dude ft. Andre 3000 and Snoop Dogg “What a Job”

Like so many others, I initially thought, why the hell would I listen to a DOUBLE album for ONE SONG? I could just hit my friends’ MySpace pages or run the extended video on YouTube whenever I needed that wedding bell bliss and that wild ass girl saying “Tic, if that bitch do you dirty we’ll wipe her ass out as in detergent.”

Then I pressed play.

WOW.

No doubt about it, this is a UGK album, through and through. Anyone who has ever ridden with Pimp C and Bun B will feel right at home in this 26 track marathon, complete with three bonus cuts. This is what I call “Ridin music.” It is the type of record that makes you lean all the way back in your seat, drive real slow through your neighborhood, and let the bass talk for you. It is lyrical, which sadly feels like an endangered species when we talk about most southern rap, with the glaring exception of Andre “Feature Killer” 3000.

The production is soulful and rich — live instrumentation, bluesy undertones, and funk that ripples gently underneath the bars. Every beat is handpicked for the lean. Every verse is layered like it matters.

And then the features.

Every artist who showed up played in UGK’s sandbox without losing themselves. Too Short. Scarface. Slim Thug. Willie D. Jazze Pha. Rick Ross. Big Daddy Kane. Kool G Rap. T.I. They bring the PIMPIN and HUSTLIN you expect, but it never feels like they hijacked the session. Then there are the surprises. Charlie Wilson. Dizzee Rascal. Raheem DeVaughn. Talib Kweli. When I saw their names, I paused. I wondered what kind of ride this would be and if I was willing to take it. I took it, and I never had to shift my lean to feel a thing.

Every guest knew whose house they entered and brought their best selves to the table. Together, they made UGK’s muzak, southern, cinematic, raw, and absolutely intentional. The best summary I heard about the album was this: “heavy doses of braggadocious slick talk, unbridled swagger, and machismo gun talk.” That about nails it.

So I will end this where I began, with gratitude for the music, for the way it stirred something in me, and for the ride it took me on.

GVG
~we’re the warriors they write epics about~

UGK & Outkast - Int'l Player's Anthem (Extended Cut)