Photo by Julia Reihs/KUTX
In the ’90s, rap in the popular imagination was dominated by East and West Coast voices. But in Houston, a particularly Gulf Coast sound brewed up, boiling over in the early 2000s when Paul Wall and Chamillionaire hit the national spotlight. Before the chart-toppers though, the Houston scene birthed its own distinctive sound and creative vision, thanks to the chopped-and-screwed psychedelia of DJ Screw, Geto Boys’ confrontational style, and countless other Texas-ized innovations.
Writer and Galveston native Lance Scott Walker spent years documenting Houston’s scene, and it’s now immortalized in a handful of books. The most recent–Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History Of Bayou City Hip-Hop–features interviews, album art, maps, and photos, and Walker brings the book to the Texas Book Festival here in Austin on October 27. And this week on My KUTX, he also brings this knowledge for a Houston-centric takeover of My KUTX. Hear the episode on Saturday, October 20 at 6 p.m. or listen anytime at the bottom of the page.
–Art Levy // producer, My KUTX
Playlist:
1. Travis Scott – “Sicko Mode”
2. E.S.G. & Slim Thug – “Getchya Hands Up”
3. Klondike Kat – “Ghetto Baby”
4. K-Rino – “Ups & Downs” (feat. Bang)
5. Cl’Che’ – “Can’t Nobody” (feat. Hawk)
6. DJ DMD – “25 Lighters” (feat. Fat Pat & Lil Keke)
7. Oticia Redman – “Subliminal”
8. Paul Wall – “Sittin’ Sidewayz” (feat. Big Pokey)
9. Geto Boys – “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”
