Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

« Home | How Much Is Your Blog Worth? » | "Ayo Where My Killer Tape At?" » | Phat 5 Joints of The Week (R.I.P. ODB) » | Talib Kweli & Mos Def Breed Love » | MTV Buys iFilm for $49 Million » | Women In Hip Hop Part 3:Jean Grae » | What Will They Think of Next? » | Go Shawty, It's Your Birthday! » | Women In Hip Hop Part 2: Mystic » | Women In Hip Hop Part 1: Heather Hunter » 

Friday, October 21, 2005 

Bun B: Trill Preview

















Don't waste your time on this if you can’t stand any of the following words and phrases:
Purple
Free Pimp C
Trill
Trap
Syrup/sizzurp
Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah

But if you wanna know how we do it in the H, then this is the blueprint and road-map all rolled in one. OK, now that we got that out the way, this is not an official review of Trill, these are my irregularly-shaped thoughts while listening to the record….for the first time.


The Solid:

  • The Inauguration - Why the hell does J Prince feel obligated to speak on the intro of every Rap-a-Lot record? But Bun B scores for showing us his lyrical side, and for being the first to mention New Orleans in a major release.

  • Get Throwed - Thankfully, this isn't Big Pimpin' 2. Believe it or not, Jay-Z's still in top form flow-wise. Pimp C’s verse is so fresh it makes you crave another UGK record. With Young Jeezy all over the track you’d think he’s getting paid extra just to say “ay” and “yeeeeaaahh” Thank God his actual verse only lasted 30 seconds.

  • Draped Up - By now, everyone’s heard this joint. I imagine it would sound better in S&C. I aint mad at the voice samples either. And wit always works: "I'm looking real shiny you can see me from a mile away" This will be getting spins for a while.

  • Draped up ft H-Town All Stars - This version features all the people that helped put H-Town on the map in 05(Paul Wall, Chamillionaire,Slim Thug, etc), and unfortunately that list includes Mike Jones. But we don't need to know that Flip did his verse for free. Who cares?

  • Trill Recognize Trill - It’s the creative use of southern slangs like these that make the album refreshing. Luda comes through on this one, as entertaining as ever.

  • The Story - Who knew that Bun B took storytelling classes from Scarface? This is the "audiobiography" of UGK’s rise to fame via Big Pimpin’ and Jive. A few more fanfare joints like this would have made Trill a masterpiece.

The So-So's:


  • What I Represent - Far from vintage UGK, but the beat' is sure to break ya neck if you try hard enough. That's not saying a lot since the selection of beats is collectively mediocre.

  • Bun - Anthemic songs that reference an artist’s name a gazillion times is usually a terrible idea (unless your name is X). Nothing special.

  • I’m A 'G' - Since T.I. was featured here, you'd expect the song title to read “I’m a King” or something to that effect. It’s a decent song once you can get past the keyboard-generated beat.

  • Pushin’ - I think they could have done without the samples on this one. Although it’s good to hear ‘Face on some new ish, but he sounds out of place on this beat. Like always, Jeezy manages to fit in but his second appearance helps drown Bun's presence...again.

The Skippable's:


  • Hold U Down - Bun B is good at playing the odd matchmaker but this one doesn't work as well as the others. Not to mention that one appearance by Mike Jones is way too much.

  • Git It - This is Wait(Whisper Song) ...part 71. Nuff said.

  • Who Need A Bitch - You’d think that by now Too $hort would be tired of talking about mackin. Unfortunately, the guest manages to overstay his welcome - another disadvantage of too many features.

  • Retaliation - Gritty from bar to hook but that's if you can get past the uninspiring production.

  • Late Night Creepin’ - blah...not a very nice way to end a solid album.

As I drive around town and find tons of Bun B posters everywhere sprawling from pole to pole, I imagine that UGK fans would be more excited than intrigued about Trill mainly because they had to wait damn near 10 years to get a Bun B solo. But that doesn't make this classic UGK . It looks like Rap-a-Lot spent more of the budget on guests than on beats. Some of the guest appearances were unecessary and tend to weigh the album down; Bun B can hold down an entire LP with positive results. The good news is that this is by far the best Texas release of 2005 so far, and it'll be in heavy rotation for a minute.

Who Run It?

  • I'm Rizoh
  • Reppin' Houston, Texas, United States
My profile

Enter your Email


Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz





Listening to



Blog Fam

Blogroll Me!

The Rap Up RSS/XML

Subscribe to The Rap Up

Add to My AOL

Add to Google

Subscribe in Bloglines

Google