The day Pimp C got out of prison, he called his grandmother, kissed his kids and got back into the studio. In the four years that the Houston MC -- half of the seminal duo UGK (Underground Kingz) -- served for missing community service following an aggravated-assault conviction, his city's hip-hop scene had become a national sensation, and he had become an underground hero name-checked by everyone from Lil Jon to Ludacris.
Less than a week after his release on December 30th, Pimp C, 33, recorded three new tracks: a remake of UGK's 1994 "Front, Back and Side to Side," with Atlanta rapper T.I., a remix of UGK partner Bun B's "Get Throwed" and a new song with protege Webbie. "I did all that last night," the MC says as he rides to yet another recording studio. "I'll knock three more out tonight and three tomorrow. I'm trying to average three a day. I want to get it all out."
Formed in 1987, UGK, originally from Port Arthur, Texas, ignited Houston's hip-hop scene along with Geto Boys. The duo's stripped-down beats, Texas drawl and mix of party and gangsta tracks formed a blueprint for Southern hip-hop that has been followed by everyone from OutKast and Master P to Nelly and Young Jeezy. In 2005, Houston's Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Webbie and Bun B all released major-label CDs -- most of which included demands to "Free Pimp C" -- as the city's sound went global and the man himself languished in Terrell prison in Livingston, Texas.
"I didn't feel like I was missing out, because I knew all the sacrifice and hard work wasn't in vain," says Pimp C. "This is what we've been working for, to see the South get this type of respect."
Pimp C's progeny gratefully acknowledge the legendary MC. "UGK proved to us in Houston that you didn't have to be on TV to make money," says Mike Jones, whose album Who Is Mike Jones? sold 1.3 million copies in 2005.
UGK first earned national attention when Jay-Z, a longtime fan, invited them to appear on the 1999 hit "Big Pimpin'." Atlanta's Ludacris cites the duo's Dirty Money as his favorite album of all time: "UGK was one of the first groups in the South that I really loved. The world needs to know how great Pimp C is."
Besides the flurry of collaborations, Pimp C is launching a Houston-based hip-hop magazine called Lava and is recording a solo album to be released in late 2006. "I put together over 2,500 songs in jail," he says. "I did them all on loose-leaf paper. When I'd get ten songs, I'd mail them home so that they wouldn't get lost in the sauce. They're still all in the envelopes -- I got a shopping bag full of rhymes."
Source : Rolling Stone
Less than a week after his release on December 30th, Pimp C, 33, recorded three new tracks: a remake of UGK's 1994 "Front, Back and Side to Side," with Atlanta rapper T.I., a remix of UGK partner Bun B's "Get Throwed" and a new song with protege Webbie. "I did all that last night," the MC says as he rides to yet another recording studio. "I'll knock three more out tonight and three tomorrow. I'm trying to average three a day. I want to get it all out."
Formed in 1987, UGK, originally from Port Arthur, Texas, ignited Houston's hip-hop scene along with Geto Boys. The duo's stripped-down beats, Texas drawl and mix of party and gangsta tracks formed a blueprint for Southern hip-hop that has been followed by everyone from OutKast and Master P to Nelly and Young Jeezy. In 2005, Houston's Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Webbie and Bun B all released major-label CDs -- most of which included demands to "Free Pimp C" -- as the city's sound went global and the man himself languished in Terrell prison in Livingston, Texas.
"I didn't feel like I was missing out, because I knew all the sacrifice and hard work wasn't in vain," says Pimp C. "This is what we've been working for, to see the South get this type of respect."
Pimp C's progeny gratefully acknowledge the legendary MC. "UGK proved to us in Houston that you didn't have to be on TV to make money," says Mike Jones, whose album Who Is Mike Jones? sold 1.3 million copies in 2005.
UGK first earned national attention when Jay-Z, a longtime fan, invited them to appear on the 1999 hit "Big Pimpin'." Atlanta's Ludacris cites the duo's Dirty Money as his favorite album of all time: "UGK was one of the first groups in the South that I really loved. The world needs to know how great Pimp C is."
Besides the flurry of collaborations, Pimp C is launching a Houston-based hip-hop magazine called Lava and is recording a solo album to be released in late 2006. "I put together over 2,500 songs in jail," he says. "I did them all on loose-leaf paper. When I'd get ten songs, I'd mail them home so that they wouldn't get lost in the sauce. They're still all in the envelopes -- I got a shopping bag full of rhymes."
Source : Rolling Stone
