He still possesses one of the best voice-presence-flow combinations in rap that relegates the worst moments of the record as merely passable. That’s not to say it’s a bad record as Bun-B’s autopilot is still capable of some great performances. It’s hard to believe the Bun who once told us, “ Read a book you illiterate son-of-a-bitch,” spends an hour in such predictable “ in the house/ Turn the party out/ No doubt” territory. I have no problem with Bun or Rap-A-Lot being successful, but what made “Big Pimpin'” and “International Players Anthem” two of the best rap singles of their time is that they had crossover success without even trying to crossover. Yet, Bun has largely put his sharp craftsmanship and innovative timing aside in favor of attempting to fit the Port Arthur sound into a non-threatening paint-by-numbers radio formula. On “Put It Down,” he abandons his simile-that-replaces-the-word-“like”-with-a-dramatic-pause style in favor of doing his best to channel Pimp C’s flow as a tribute and attempts to kindle a similar chemistry. Drake himself appears no less than twice on the album, but at least his presence feels genuine. I’m all for using a connection to a huge pop star to help get more listeners’ attention, but such an out-of-nowhere factoid is a bizarre re-welcoming into Bun’s house. Prince welcoming Drake (yes, that Drake) to “the family,” boasting that his son was the first person to discover him. The very first thing we hear on the album is Rap-A-Lot founder J. While I don’t think he should dramatically shift his country rap tunes to suddenly become blatant “grown man rap” or into wistful reminiscing, much of the album seemed specifically aimed to today’s teenage rap audience. exploring where he’s at in his own life these days. While Bun makes it quite clear he’s “still UGK 4 Life,” he doesn’t spend much of Trill O.G. Sadly, he’s only exploring familiar territory. looks to be Bun’s chance to establish himself once and for all as a solo artist and set course for the rest of his career. His second solo album since Pimp’s death, Trill O.G. When Pimp C went to prison, Bun worked twice as hard, building an anticipation for Pimp’s release that saw their 2007 reunion album, Underground Kingz become the biggest hit of their careers. Signed to Jive, a label notorious for being a perpetual headache for their rap artists, Bun and partner Pimp C often had to live up to their Underground King moniker and expand their fanbase themselves via tremendous word-of-mouth and countless cross-country collaborations and cameos. For a group that had their major label debut in 1992 with Too Hard to Swallow, UGK’s career often had a “hurry up and slow-down” momentum. I use “return” loosely as these past few years have never really seen Bun go away. One half of celebrated Texas rap duo UGK, Bun returns with his third solo album Trill O.G.
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