UGK

401 Guadalupe, Thursday, March 15

While Texas rap openers KB da Kidnappa and Willie D whet the appetite of a tented cast of 800 onlookers, only a stage-front union of Bun B and Pimp C could satisfy Austin’s ravenous hunger for a UGK headlining set. The mitigating wait proved worthwhile and then some as Port Arthur’s finest unveiled gem after gem from their charismatic 15-year catalog. Their momentum-building streak through classics “Trill Ass Nigga,” “Pocket Full of Stones,” “Front, Back and Side to Side,” “Diamonds and Wood,” “Sippin’ on Some Syrup,” and “Let Me See It” left collective jaws on the floor and blunt-busied hands in the air. If Bun B isn’t the most precise performer in the rap game, then lifetime-achievement haters at least need to concede that Bun’s verse from “Murder” is the stuff of legend. When DJ Domo dropped the beat to “Get Throwed,” UGK utilized cruise-control technology that doesn’t come with most models of rap crew. With Pimp C back in the fold, a new UGK double-album barely scratches the surface of expectations that Texas rap fans have been harboring for their Gulf Coast heroes.

This article appears in March 23 • 2007.

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