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UGK - Underground KingzAlbum Review by:
John Burnett
Monday, August 13, 2007
 Rap lost its appeal when it lost its balance. Somewhere along the line, emcees began to only tell half the tale. They showed you the foreign cars, the plush mansions, the promiscuous women that drug money could buy, yet they conveniently omitted sorting out the moral conflict of living an unlawful lifestyle while still being a spiritual person or that moment when the gavel slams down deliberating twenty five to life for that drug charge practically destroying a family unit. No one can be Tony Montana or Iceberg Slim all day, everyday in their music. Not only is it unrealistic; it’s boring as hell to listen to. Reminisce on the classics like Ready to Die or Reasonable Doubt or Illmatic…They gave you balance; tales of the dope game and fatal gun fights contrasted by tracks expressing remorse and seeking repentance. U.G.K.’s Underground Kingz, delivers a similar mixture of the profane and the sacred; the streets and the tabernacle; the trap and the pulpit.
Disc one emerges from the streets with deep bass, bluesy guitars and blaring horn sections. “Underground Kingz” chronicles U.G.K.’s nearly two decade run in the game with deep Southern drawl, much swagger and plenty street machismo. Bun B rhymes smoothly about maintaining old school principles like respect, valor and honor when stepping to the duo while Pimp C in his usual manner delivers straight-forward rhymes like “we were the first niggas talkin’ bout wood wheels/came up with the word, that’s why we so triiilll.” Pimp C’s production which accesses subtle piano strokes and an active brass section adds a decidedly Southern feel to the track. Much of the album has the same feel. On “The Game Belongs to Me” the pace slows to a crawling pace throwing a nod to the fallen DJ Screw (both in the chorus and on numerous name drops) and several allusions to sipping codeine. “Gravy” purposely keeps the BPMs dangerously low and the 808 hitting hard over this laid back track infused with slick pimp talk courtesy of Pimp C and pistol talk from Bun B. “Like That (Remix)” increases the pace, but the game spittin’ remains constant as the duo trade bawdy lines like “you don’t want me to talk like that/you ever got fucked in a Maybach/you ever got buck in the back of Lac’/roof gone, top back” or “I throw it up on her/she throw it right back/bitch you know you like that/in ya mouth but don’t bite that.” Most of the first disc delivers typical street, gun and drug talk but is contrasted by tracks on the second disc.
“Real Women” featuring soul singer, Raheem Devaughn and Talib Kweli has the OG’s stepping outside of their usual player personas. Bun B rhymes on the topic of knowing how to distinguish a real queen from the hoes and tricks. Talib lends an uptempo contribution about his treatment of his other half to the effort while Raheem Devaughn warbles away throughout the track. The track is a nice contrast to their usual pimp talk. “How Long Can It Last” discusses Pimp C’s reasoning for slinging snow. He acknowledges it as being wrong but claims he does it to support his family. He also rhymes about seeking relief through his prayers sent up to the Heavenly Father. “Shattered Dreams” provides optimism and hope for the “underdogs” as Pimp C reveals even his family members doubted he could make in the rap game. The most touching moments of this album come in the closing on the very honest and frank track “Living This Life.” Pimp C genuinely relates his difficulty and hesitance in returning to church and Bun B raps about keeping faith in God although some of his acts are not so saintly. The Pimp finishes the track with “I’m the product of the ghetto/a flame of the city/so I talk the language of the ave/forgive my dirty mouth please I’m whipping slabs/50s, quarters and the whole thang/balances my whole life on a four beam/and I need codeine just stay sane/I’m steady praying to you but I don’t know yo name” concluding a very balanced and mature effort.
Underground Kingz succeeds where many albums fail. It actually provides an accurate and balanced view of street life; both the good and the bad. It provides you both songs with substance and songs for purely entertainment whereas most usually provide the latter and barely manage to do that. The only fault I can find with this album is the two disc format. The sheer number of tracks (25+) provides for some repetitive lines here and there and a few songs that could have been left out. Underground Kingz will cement Bun B and Pimp C’s status in the rap game, and if they weren’t already there in your mind, place them in the top 3 of rap duos. Despite the album’s few weak moments it ranks highly among other rap legend’s double disc efforts, towers over everything that came out of the South this year and is most definitely in the running for Rap album of the year.
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