Texas Rapps Flashback: Casino & Gutta Gang's Game Time

Football season is serious business down here in Texas. In 2006, Casino of Austin's Gutta Gang brought shifty gridiron styles to the club with both his hit song "Game Time" and its resulting Heisman dance...

Houston Mayor Declares August 30th as Bun B Day

The city of Houston has already honored each of Trae, Lil Troy, and Lil J with their own calendar earmarks. Now, current Houston Mayor Annise Parker has declared August 30th as Bun B Day. The longtime mouthpiece of the Underground Kingz aka UGK, Bun B carries the torch for his deceased partner Pimp C and realness in rap within the same calculated breath...  

Z-Ro freestyle

Definitely appreciate that Z-Ro keeps putting out these preview verses, as they lend a glimpse at real rap without all the studio polish involved...

2 Chains, Bun B & Big K.R.I.T. - Pimps video

Port Arthur legend Bun B of UGK joins Atlanta's 2 Chainz and Mississippi's Big K.R.I.T. for a saxophone-laden slide into that classic Southern pimp vibe, which DJ Drobitussen goes and accentruates further with his "screwed and chopped" treatment...

Scarface Back on the Scene

Word is that Scarface was released from the big house this week where he had spent time for failure to pay child support. As not only a legend from the past (Geto Boys! Geto Boys!) but someone who has also put out quality music recently (2008's Emeritus album, for instance), Scarface likely still has some gas in his tank enough to make his next project interesting...

Boss Hogg Outlawz - Outlaw Wayz video

Houston's Boss Hogg Outlawz preview their latest crew album Outlaw Wayz by stringing together 7 videos by each of L.E.$, Black, Dre Day, Lil Ray, M.U.G., Slim Thug, and Herbman...

Gerald G - 2 Sides of the Story video

Austin's Gerald G is what I would call a rapper's rapper. He's not just scratching the surface with his flows and topics. He's delving deep into innovative techniques and pensive subject matter. His bars are as relentless as they are heartfelt and dude's got just enough style to pull the whole thinking-man's rap thing off... 

Dre Day - The 4 video

Dre Day of Houston's Boss Hogg Outlawz utilizes the Live Out Loud Band to flesh out an especially dank take on the classic Texas rap sound...

Delo - Ghetto Boy video

From the streets of Mo City, Houston, Delo sticks to the tried-and-true blueprint of "money, methazine, and metaphors". Meanwhile Bdo, who produced the track, makes like fellow Texan DJ Premier by sampling the bassline to Maynard Ferguson's "Mister Mellow"...

League of Extraordinary G'z - Yes He Is video

Austin's League of Extraordinary G'z shot this video while touring the West Coast with Jackie Chain. Dred Skott's Esbe the 6th Street Bully, who spits the first verse here, has been out of his head lately, ripping the mic in nothing short of spectacular fashion. C.O.D.'s S-Dot and Tukdagat follow suit, rounding out the song with their own nifty takes on rapid-fire execution...

Blofly - Comin' Out tha D video

I like it a whole lot more when a Dallas rapper reminds me of Houston instead of reminding me of Atlanta. Blofly here with some standard issue...

Queen Deelah & T-Fly - Dope video

Gotta love it when someone from your own neighborhood really starts to shine. Austin's T-Fly is a graduated product of The Cipher organization, run by members of Public Offenders over at Reagan High School, and here she joins Queen Deelah for a study in lyrical detoxification...

Texas Rapps Flashback: Geto Boys' Straight Gangsterism

For the Geto Boys' 1993 album Til Death Do Us Part, Willie D was temporarily replaced in the group by fellow Rap-A-Lot affiliate Big Mike. This led to a classic song titled "Straight Gangsterism" featuring the lyrical triumvirate of Scarface, Big Mike, and Mr. 3-2, who had formerly been a member of the Convicts with Big Mike... 

Texas Rapps Flashback: Strange Fruit Project

Waco's Strange Fruit Project does soulful hip-hop as well as anyone. Their producer Symbolic One, much like his Texas counterpart Mike Dean, has been tapped in recent years by Kanye West to be a part of his studio team. "Get Live" comes from Strange Fruit's 2006 album The Healing and features Symbolic One, Myth, and Myone sharing the mic with Erykah Badu... 

D Rose & Tray Chaney - Life on Film video

Houston's D Rose gets a helping hand from Tray Chaney who adds a verse, DJ Cozmos who produced the track, and Damien Randle of the Legendary KO who directed the video...

Texas Rapps Flashback: DJ Screw & Big Pokey Bow Down freestyle

This one comes from DJ Screw's Headed 2 the League cassette that came out in '97. It features 22 minutes of Big Pokey wrecking Westside Connection's "Bow Down" and put frankly, there's hardly a flow out there that embodies the Screwed Up Click like this one...