Kingz and
desperate men

>> Two sides of Texan rapper Bun B

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: Bun B

by NARCEL X

“It’s the big Southern rap impresario.” Those five words solidified Bun B—with Pimp C, half of UGK, or Underground Kingz—as a threat from down South. Bun has pimped slang on tracks with the likes of Jay-Z (“Big Pimpin’”), always coming out the victor of the song. With 15 years in the game, he has become a mainstay in Houston’s burgeoning hip hop scene, being part of the Rap-A-Lot roster and recently forming Trill Entertainment, a label co-owned with his partner in rhyme. Returning from Louisiana, where he was observing the racially loaded Jena Six trial, Bun B spoke with the Mirror on the complexities of life and making music for the people.

Mirror: You took part in the Jena Six protest. Not a lot of people [from hip hop music] showed up, and it should mean a lot to hip hop, shouldn’t it?

Bun B: It was important for me to go not just from a political aspect. I’m from Houston and I’ve done concerts in Alexandria, all around Louisiana, so it was important. It would be stupid for me to think those kids aren’t UGK fans. I didn’t put out a press release or anything. It was for the kids and the community to know I give a damn.

M: How do you feel about Mychal Bell being free on bail? Do you see it as an act of public appeasement or a sign of justice?

BB: There isn’t much being done for public appeasement, but people know what’s right is right. I try not to get too politically involved. There’s racial injustice going on, with the trees and the nooses situation. We want to make sure when these instances come up in America, when something is wrong, we have to shed light on it. If the people hadn’t marched, rallied and supported, Mychal Bell would be in jail right now.

M: What would you say to people who say your music is not a reflection of the multifaceted person that you are? You were at the protest, then you do tracks like “Big Pimpin”—has hip hop allowed you to show people both sides of life?

BB: You are supposed to show the good times and the bad times. You have to let people into your world fully and show them that you take losses like them sometimes. You know, situations around family, your girl, your kids, most people relate to these issues. The more you relate to the public, showing people you can do right and change… Nowadays, anybody can make a good record, but at the end of the day, you have to show people who you really are. Those are the songs that last.

M: Seeing as UGK stands for Underground Kingz, would you say you are underground or has the name now became an homage to that era in your life?

BB: We still represent for the underground. I’m not the richest rapper, a lot of people my age are richer than me. I’m still striving—I got a little bit more light and notoriety on me, but I’m still not anywhere I wanna be.

With Rapid Ric and DJ Chill at les Saints
on Friday, Oct. 5, 11 p.m., $25