Pimp C produced all but two of the tracks, adding to his signature style of funky background tracks for the country poetry rapped by him and Bun B. Released in 1996, it reached Number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at Number 15 on the Billboard 200 these high rankings were the first for UGK. Most critics and fans consider UGK’s fourth album, Ridin’ Dirty, their best-selling album, to be their best artistic product. The hook was sampled from Compton rapper, Easy E, from the song “Boys-N-The Hood.” It was a “good times” type song that highlighted Houston’s car culture. “Front, Back & Side to Side” is the most popular and quoted song from the album. The hook “It’s Dom Perignon, It’s supposed to bubble” is a swanky metaphor for their newfound success in life. Two singles were released from Super Tight-“It’s Supposed to Bubble” and “Front, Back & Side to Side.” On “It’s Supposed to Bubble,” with sampled instrumentation from a 1979 song “Thoughts of My Old Flames” by the group Pleasure, Bun B and Pimp C assert their rise from dilettantes to more mature rappers with more status and cash. However, this album is more noteworthy because Pimp C produced all eleven tracks, lacing the album with live instrumentation, funky samples, pianos and organs, and Southern tempos. Their next album, Super Tight, continued to tell stories of urban life from a Texas Gulf Coast perspective, but UGK upped the ante on this album with their braggadocio and stories of their sexual escapades.
#BUN B AND PIMP C ALBUMS MOVIE#
UGK’s songs later appeared on two other movie soundtracks, the Wayans Brothers’ A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996). Since the soundtrack reached Number 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Number 11 on the Billboard 200, UGK’s national exposure increased.
#BUN B AND PIMP C ALBUMS FULL#
Jive Records included a remixed version of “Pocket Full of Stones” on the soundtrack of the popular 1993 movie Menace II Society. Entitled “Pocket Full of Stones,” the song elucidated on the vicissitudes of a young drug dealer. One of the new tracks helped UGK gain national exposure. Their major label debut, Too Hard to Swallow, came out that same year and featured a few songs from The Southern Way and several new songs. UGK signed with Jive Records in 1992 and agreed to a five-album contract.
Although they won the contest, they were disqualified because they were already signed to a record label, but this exposure helped them sell thousands of copies of The Southern Way and attracted the attention of major labels. After the urging of radio deejays Greg Street and Reg-N-Effect, they entered their single, “Tell Me Something Good,” in radio station 97.9 The Box’s Houston Home Jamz contest. The album was only released as a cassette and featured a rap version of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s soul hit “Tell Me Something Good.” UGK relentlessly promoted their cassette throughout the Texas Gulf Coast. UGK originally signed with a Houston startup label, Bigtyme Recordz, where they recorded and distributed their freshmen album, The Southern Way. Only minutes away from Houston, they were inspired by the early success of the Geto Boys and other rappers on the groundbreaking Houston label, Rap-A-Lot Records. The remaining members, Chad Butler and Bernard Freeman, decided to pursue rap as full-time careers, thus forming the Underground Kingz. Queen and Jackson eventually quit the group to focus on their athletic pursuits. Later, Bernard Freeman, whose childhood nickname was “Bunny,” and Jalon Jackson joined the group, which led to a new name, 4 Black Menacesters.
Chad, whose father was a trumpet player, was a band kid who played many instruments.
Mission Impossible was the first group name, which consisted of Chad Butler and Mitchell Queen. The group went through two early transformations before becoming UGK. Chad “Pimp C” Butler (December 29, 1973–December 4, 2007) and Bernard “Bun B” Freeman (born March 19, 1973) told these stories.
UGK is known for their funk, soul, and gospel-infused instrumentals that underlay the personal and fictional tails of urban life along the Texas Gulf Coast. UGK is a Texas hip-hop group that formed in the late 1980s in Port Arthur, Texas, a port city outside of Houston.