Bun B has revisited the inner workings of the first contract that UGK signed with Jive Records back in the 1990s and how there were life-altering components to it catered toward himself and the late Pimp C.
In an interview with IDEA GENERATION, which aired on Thursday (August 24), the Houston rap legend opened up about the specific legal document in detail.
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“The most fucked up thing about the UGK contract was there was a death/jail clause in my contract,” Bun B began. “Which stated that if one of us died or if one of us went to jail, that we can replace that member, but at a lower percentage rate. And I was actually asked if I wanted to exercise this clause when Pimp C went to jail.” Pimp C was sentenced to eight years in prison in August 2002 but was released in December of 2005.
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He went on: “This was in the original contract I signed in 1992. A death clause — and I can replace my dead friend but at a lower rate. So yeah that was the kind of thing — and obviously, we had a fucked up recoupment and all of that. There were amendments in the contract that we signed in 1992, that we didn’t fully fix until Pimp came home from prison in like, 2005.”
Bun B then went on to speak further about the death or jail clause and how he turned it down to do a solo album along with how the label viewed him as a talent at the time.
“When I told them I wanted to do the solo album, they brought up the clause, first,” he said. “I said no, I didn’t want to exercise that clause. And then they said, ‘Well, we’re not interested in the Bun B album, you’re the sidekick.’ And it was only so much I could argue it. I knew Pimp was the star, right, I knew Pimp was the heart of it, but I was doing some good shit too!”
The “Get Throwed” artist said that he ended up striking a deal with Rap-A-Lot and putting out his solo project, Trill, on the J. Prince-ran label. Pimp C passed away on December 4, 2007.
Within the same interview, Bun B also warned the younger generation about predatory record deals.
“This is how record deals are — any kind of deals typically work like this,” he said. “They put it like a 75-, or 80-page contract, in front of you, right? And you see these yellow tabs coming out the side — there were three yellow tabs. First yellow tab was like, okay y’all wanted these amount of videos and all of that, okay? This is where you get that.”
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He continued: “Then it was like, okay you guys want this kind of money in advance and all that and the checks are sitting right there. You see the check in front of you on the table you know what I’m saying? So, you’re just trying to sign whatever they want you to sign so you can get that check. I’m literally signing my life away because I’m only looking at three pages of an 80-page contract. So there’s only three pages giving me what I want, because I’m not paying attention.”
