UGK Album: “Underground Kingz [PA]”

UGK has been through ups and downs in the game. They put out 4 classic album on Jive Records that were poorly promoted. They had to deal with the general manager screwing them and Pimp C was in and out of jail. When Dirty Money(their best album at that time) came out, Pimp C was already doing time. He still had The Sweet James Jones Story released and Bun B finally dropped Trill in 2005. Pimp C was finally released in 2006 and dropped Pimpalation in 2006. Now after 6 years of waiting, Ugk drop their best work to date: Underground Kingz. There are many tracks where they both shine like the Intro, Gravy, The Game Belongs To Me(the hook is hilarious) Still Ridin Dirty(feat Scarface) etc. Andre 3000(who is beginning to sound more like spoken word artist than a rapper) and Big Boi make their presense felt in International Player's Anthem(I Choose You). The original version with Three 6 Mafia is cool with me also. Memories are brought back with a masterful update of Life Is with Life Is 2007. Trill N****z Dont Die(feat Z-Ro) and Grind Hard(feat Young T.O.E.) are also notable tracks. Take Tha Hood Back(feat Slim Thug, Vicious and Middle Fingaz)is an anti-snitch anthem that works as UGK blast those that violate the game while Slim Thug provides a climatic hook. Top Drop Dyne is that vintage chevy music track. Quit Hatin The South(feat Willie D and Charlie Wilson) is self-explanatory(if you can read into the title) as UGK and Willie D blasts those bums who pop s*** about the south over the internet but are cowards in their faces. I feel them on that but I hope this doesnt get out of hand. Rick Ross makes a decent appearance on Cocaine but Pimp C set that track off. Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap make a great appearance on Next Up. Living This Life is cool and Pimp C surprised me when he was mentioning books that I read when I first became conscious. Makes me wonder how many other rappers are brighter than what they let on( think David Banner). This double album is not without flaws. Candy is corny and Two Types of B*****s(feat Dizzee Rascal and Pimpin Ken) is wack. Even though I like the remix of Like That, the original is too plain. Country Cousins on Talib's Eardrum was great but Real Women(also feat Talib Kweli and Raheem Devaughn) is questionable. Not everybody sounds great over Swizz's monotonous beats and UGK and TI is no exception, so you know Hit The Block is a mistake(even if their rhymes on that track wasnt bad). Tell Me How You Feel and the chopped and screwed version of International Players Anthem are tracks that I dont care for. Bottom Line: Despite these missteps, this is UGK's best work to date. You can definetely feel the effort in their album and it will takes it place among other great double albums that have been released in the past. Standout Tracks: on Disc 1 and 2: COCAINE, QUIT HATIN THE SOUTH, INT'L PLAYER'S ANTHEM(Outkast and Three 6 version), TRILL N****S DONT DIE, TAKE THA HOOD BACK, TOP DROP DYNE, GRAVY, STILL RIDIN DIRTY, LIKE THAT(REMIX) and HOW LONG CAN IT LAST.

SMOKE SOMETHIN B****!!! HOLD UP!! KNOW WHAT IM TALKIN BOUT!!!

REST IN PEACE PIMP C!!!!!

I must preface this review by saying that I've never been a fan of either Bun B or Pimp C before buying this cd. After buying this CD, I was blown away by how much I loved both of these rappers. Their voices flow perfectly over the beats throughout this record. Every song on this cd is good if not great. I recently bought the 50/Kanye cds and after about 3 days of listening to them, I immediately went back to Underground Kingz. My favorite songs are:

Int'l Players Anthem

Grind Hard

The Game Belongs To Me (great chorus!)

Quit Hatin' The South

How Long can It Last (amazing!)

and that's just off the top of my head. There are plenty more that are great on the album. I would have thought a cd with 26 tracks would have some filler, but it truly doesn't. You can listen to this cd from front to back and not get tired of it in the slightest. I highly recommend this cd to anyone looking for something fresh in the rap game. These guys have been together for over 15 years and they still sound amazing!

bun-b is one of the most respected cats in hip-hop and is crazy lyrical too. pimp c (RIP) had some of the illest swagger hip hop has ever seen (I pack an iron e'ry time and i aint tryin die...pssy ngga <--haha, i love dat sht!)

this is my favorite album from 07 hands down, and Int'l playas anthem was my favorite banger from the year too. It's groups like UGK that make me wonder how people hate on the south period

I love this album, it still gets pretty heavy rotation on my deck

UGK - Underground Kingz (Jive, 2007)

I remember UGK from their mid-90's classic, "Pocket Full of Stones" but if you don't remember that song, then you surely know them from Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" from 1999. What's amazing is how a group can go from being underground and underrated to debuting at #1. But if Three 6 Mafia can win an Oscar, then anything's possible. Speaking of 3-6, they produced the runaway hit, "Int'l Players Anthem" featuring OutKast. (Earlier versions of this album contained the original version feating 3-6 themselves and a chopped-n-screwed version but nothing beats the aforementioned one.)

If you're looking for lyrical complexity, you came to the wrong place but few deliver commonplace gangsta material better than Bun B and Pimp C (R.I.P.). B usually drops the dopest rhymes while Pimp handles most of the production as well as rhymes. There are guest stars aplenty but the collaborations never sound force nor the album sounding overcrowded. And while there may be minor flaws present (Pimp C says, "Rolling stones like Mick Jagger" more than once, the original version of "Like That" is wack and all those versions of "Int'l Players Anthem" aren't needed), UGK did what other rappers couldn't do: deliver a hip-hop double album that doesn't require much fast-forwarding. It's good that Pimp C enjoyed some of that success before he died. -EJR

first UGK cd i've bought. love it! it's refreshing compared to the staleness on the radio!