Houston heats up as hip-hop mecca
http://www.heraldnewsdaily.com/stor...ws-0083315.html
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - When it comes to filling the pipeline for hip-hop hits, Houston does not have a problem.
Houston rappers Paul Wall, Mike Jones and Slim Thug -- each of whom honed his craft on the mix-tape circuit -- are among this year‘s biggest national breakout artists. But they are just the leading edge of a movement that has long flirted with mainstream success.
Among the next wave poised to break nationally is Wall‘s former partner, Chamillionaire. Nicknamed "the Mixtape Messiah," he will make his major-label album debut November 22 with "The Sound of Revenge" on Universal Records.
"People are tired of hearing the same thing over and over again," Chamillionaire says. "They want something new. Timing is everything, and it‘s up to us to take advantage while it is hot."
Arguably the most influential Houston rap icon was DJ Screw, who died in 2000. The producer/remixer, born Robert Earl Davis Jr., introduced the term "screwed and chopped" to the rap lexicon in 1989. He manually slowed down hit tracks by using the pitch control on a turntable -- the better to listen to while hallucinating on codeine-infused cough syrup.
Called "syrup sippin‘," the practice led to DJ Screw‘s death at the age of 30. Hundreds of mix tapes before that, however, his Screwed Up Click, including players like Lil‘ Keke and Big Pokey, helped Houston rap forge its signature sound. It also opened the door to a lucrative mix-tape cottage industry that spawned Swisha House and seminal production operations like Wreckshop and Beltway 8.
By this time, Houston‘s rap culture was firmly entrenched. The music became a deep reflection of the city‘s languid pace, its searing heat and its obsession with slick cars that sported fancy spoked rims and custom grills.
"Everything we do is laid-back," says Oran "Big O" Smith, who along with Derrick Jones owns popular Houston retailer Music Depot. "We‘re in no hurry to go anywhere nor do something fast. And that‘s how the music is: something you can really feel and bob your head to."
For Asylum president Todd Moscowitz, it was timing -- and the ability to recognize a scene others had overlooked. "I wish I could say we discovered it. But there‘s been an incredibly vibrant hip-hop music scene going on there for 20 years. Everyone knew about the Geto Boys and Scarface, but not the entire scene. All we did was shine a spotlight on it."
After its launch in September 2004 by Warner Music Group, incubator label Asylum wasted little time getting down to business and tapping into Houston‘s rich rap culture. The label‘s first round of marketing and distribution announcements included pacts with Houston indie strongholds Rap-a-Lot and Swisha House.
Founded by James Prince in 1986, Rap-a-Lot is home to influential local pioneers the Geto Boys. Predating Ice-T and 2 Live Crew with raps about murder and other inflammatory subject matter in 1990, the Geto Boys sparked moral outrage while drawing attention to Houston‘s percolating rap scene.
The Geto Boys scored an R&B hit with "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" from their 1992 platinum album "We Can‘t Be Stopped." But widespread mainstream success eluded them. Rap-a-Lot released a Geto Boys reunion album earlier this year. The label‘s catalog also sports albums by Yukmouth, Dirty, Do or Die and Geto Boys member Scarface.
Swisha House began 10 years ago as a mix-tape production house, helmed by DJ Michael Watts. Jones, Wall and Slim Thug all got their starts there, as did Chamillionaire. A label division was started in 1999 with Slim Thug as one of its standout acts.
Houston‘s rap honor roll also includes gangsta duo UGK (aka the Underground Kingz). Though UGK‘s Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman never broke nationally on their own, Jay-Z enlisted the pair for a guest stint on his top 10 R&B/top 20 pop hit "Big Pimpin"‘ in 2000. Bun B currently is enjoying his own resurgence. In addition to guest appearances on the Slim Thug, Jones and Chamillionaire albums, he is readying a solo set, "Trill," for release October 18 on Rap-a-Lot.
Another element leading to Houston‘s hip-hop renaissance was the success of Lil‘ Flip. The Sony Urban Music/Columbia artist jumped from selling 702,000 units in 2002 with "Undaground Legend" to moving 1 million in 2004 with his second Sucka Free/Sony Urban Music set "U Gotta Feel Me." Fans did. The album spawned crossover hits "Game Over (Flip)" and "Sunshine" (featuring Lea). The latter climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Wall, the city‘s most recent breakout story, says, "Lil‘ Flip just proved to people that although this style is different and they might not understand it, it‘s working. So that drew a lot of attention to the rest of us in Houston."
Wall‘s Swisha House/Asylum Records debut, "The People‘s Champ," claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 in early October. Four weeks after its release, it sits at No. 17 with sales of 294,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Star Trak/Geffen/Interscope artist Slim Thug bowed at No. 2 on the big chart in July with "Already Platinum" (128,000 units). The album is now closing in on gold status, with 348,000 copies sold.
Leading the mainstream charge in April was Wall‘s labelmate Jones. Thanks to the BET- and MTV-pumped first single "Still Tippin"‘ (featuring Slim Thug and Wall), "Who Is Mike Jones?" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 1.1 million copies to date.
"When ‘Still Tippin‘ ‘ started picking up, it was like, ‘Yeah, we got our foot in the door,"‘ Wall says. "But we‘re not comfortable with just this. We want to go through it and bring a bunch of people with us."
