While UGK’s Bun B and the late Pimp C are fixtures of the Southern Hip Hop scene, particularly in Houston, it took them considerable effort to break into the New York Hip Hop scene.
“We had to fight the hard fight,” Bun said in an interview with New York radio station Power 105.1. “It wasn’t as hard as the Geto Boys and the people who came before us…They made it a little easier for us, but we still had ground that we had to break. It just takes perseverance, patience. You can get anything you want in the world if you willing to wait. Most people ain’t willing to wait.”
The discussion led to Bun recalling when he first spoke to Jay Z about UGK collaborating with him on the “Big Pimpin'” single which became a crossover hit for UGK.
“When he first called and said it was him, I thought it was someone playing on my phone,” Bun said. “He called me back, and he was like ‘Yo family.’ …He hit me with that Jay voice. Pimp like, ‘What he want?’. ‘Tell him to send it. We’ll see.'”
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Still, Bun cautioned that Jay was not the first New York artist to have him on a project.
“No, that would probably be 50,” Bun said, before adding, “Let me not say that. 50 was the first artist that called like ‘We want you on a project.’ The first artist to embrace UGK is either going to be, like, Keith Murray or Lord Jamar, probably gonna be the first two people that we rocked with. That’s how we all ended up on the Don’t Be A Menace soundtrack, because those were all our friends in New York. We met Keith Murray at the label because he was on Jive Records… Lord Jamar, we just met him in New York, and to this day he’s one of our closest friends. We’ve only done, maybe, two songs together over a 20-year-friendship. That’s my brother.”
Watch the interview below:
Earlier this week, Trinidad James commented, during a concert in New York, that the proverbial tables had turned in Hip Hop, claiming that Atlanta ran the New York music scene: “I remember when New York ran this shit, dog,” said Trinidad. “When Dipset was fuckin turned the fuck up. Oh my God. I gotta wear my bandana on tilt like Juelz. What the fuck happened, dog? What happened? I remember when New York rap was the shit. And us in the South, us bammas, we was like ‘what the fuck’ and we just did our own thing. But now we run y’all musically. That’s crazy. That’s crazy. That’s crazy, my nigga. That’s crazy. I’m not trying to start nothing, but if you want to do something we can do something cause I don’t give a fuck. I looked up to New York music. And now every nigga that’s really poppin’ out of New York, you might as well tell they from Atlanta. ‘He from Atlanta. He from Atlanta. He from Atlanta.’ I’m just putting it out there. Y’all got more bloggers—y’all got niggas interviewing more popular than niggas that’s rapping.”
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Bun B has recently launched a food blog. His latest album, The Epilogue, dropped November 11, 2013. The album features Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and Serani.
RELATED:Bun B Talks Upholding UGK’s Legacy In His Travels, Teachings & Relationships [2013 INTERVIEW]
