Bun B

An imposing if beloved presence in hip-hop since the early '90s, Bun B is a Southern rap icon known for no-nonsense rhymes delivered with steely precision. Beside fellow Port Arthur, Texas native <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a>, he rose to fame with <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a>, who issued a string of Top 20 albums including the gold-certified Ridin' Dirty (1996) and the chart-topping Underground Kingz (2007), home to the duo's Grammy-nominated collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:1G9G7WwrXka3Z1r7aIDjI7">OutKast</a>, "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)." In the midst of <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a>'s hot streak, Bun B made his solo debut with Trill (2005), a Top Ten hit he followed with the equally successful II Trill (2008) and Trill O.G. (2010). Trill O.G.: The Epilogue (2013), and Return of the Trill (2018) maintained the MC's commercial visibility during the rise of a younger generation raised on his earlier recordings. Subsequent projects Mo Trill, TrillStatik, and TrillStatik 2 (2019-2022) have seen him work in tandem with producers <a href="spotify:artist:257XxBli1wEFEvEuPAaCEL">Cory Mo</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5v0XTlB9FqNvfBfnw8n5b0">Statik Selektah</a>.

Bun B (born Bernard Freeman) and <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a> formed <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a> in the late '80s when their former crew, Four Black Ministers, fell apart. <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a> signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jive%22">Jive</a>, and with 1992's Too Hard to Swallow began a series of Southern gangsta rap albums that were successful sellers. Bun B formed the side project <a href="spotify:artist:0WEbp3cJOSZMDeATozFI6F">Mddl Fngz</a> in 2000, but his main concern was still <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a>. Things came to halt in 2003 when <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a> was sentenced to eight years in prison on an aggravated gun assault charge. Bun B carried on solo, making numerous appearances on other artists' tracks and then in 2005 releasing both the mixtape Legends and his debut album, the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rap-a-Lot%22">Rap-a-Lot</a> release Trill, a Top Ten hit that was later certified gold. With <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a> seeing early release in late 2005, Bun B returned to <a href="spotify:artist:6ZhjJOJXXwnPS8PrXdmjLw">UGK</a>. In 2007, the pair put out their chart-topping Underground Kingz, which included the hit single "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" with <a href="spotify:artist:1G9G7WwrXka3Z1r7aIDjI7">OutKast</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a>'s accidental death in December 2007 left Bun B to return to a solo career.

Bun's second solo album, II Trill, arrived in May 2008. It became his highest-charting effort to that point, rising to number two on the Billboard 200 and simultaneously topping the R&B/hip-hop, rap, and independent charts. His follow-up, 2010's Trill O.G., fared almost as well, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200. A fourth installment of the Trill series, Trill O.G.: The Epilogue, arrived in 2013 and featured guests <a href="spotify:artist:0CKa42Jqrc9fSFbDjePaXP">Big K.R.I.T.</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1sBkRIssrMs1AbVkOJbc7a">Rick Ross</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:17lzZA2AlOHwCwFALHttmp">2 Chainz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2yQf6b8hxahZaT5dHlWaB1">Raekwon</a>, and more, as well as posthumous <a href="spotify:artist:7v9bFXCdSMA2o3gS4nvp0F">Pimp C</a> appearances on "Cake" and "Don't Play with Me."

After several years during which he recorded occasional guest verses -- he was more deeply involved in endeavors such as lecturing at Rice University -- Bun B released Return of the Trill in 2018. Featuring production assistance from <a href="spotify:artist:0CKa42Jqrc9fSFbDjePaXP">Big K.R.I.T.</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:57UnSUpae3SbRekxNa5Kgl">El-P</a> (whose <a href="spotify:artist:4RnBFZRiMLRyZy0AzzTg2C">Run the Jewels</a> appeared on "Myself"), Return also included appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:4OBJLual30L7gRl5UkeRcT">T.I.</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:55Aa2cqylxrFIXC767Z865">Lil Wayne</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3qnGvpP8Yth1AqSBMqON5x">Leon Bridges</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:01aC2ikO4Xgb2LUpf9JfKp">Gary Clark, Jr.</a> He quickly followed with TrillStatik, on which he teamed with producer <a href="spotify:artist:5v0XTlB9FqNvfBfnw8n5b0">Statik Selektah</a> and involved the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:4VmEWwd8y9MCLwexFMdpwt">Method Man</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3ScY9CQxNLQei8Umvpx5g6">Fat Joe</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0ABk515kENDyATUdpCKVfW">Westside Gunn</a>. Bun dealt two similarly collaborative LPs in 2022. First was Mo Trill, made with <a href="spotify:artist:257XxBli1wEFEvEuPAaCEL">Cory Mo</a> and led by the rolling maturation anthem "Hesitate" with <a href="spotify:artist:0lEssBAxQl2In4RpaB1C2Y">Talib Kweli</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7jFaoqWPhYLrKzjzlpXmUO">David Banner</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3Qh89pgJeZq6d8uM1bTot3">Tobe Nwigwe</a>. TrillStatik 2, the making of which was streamed live from the headquarters of Sweet Chick restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, was out months later. <a href="spotify:artist:0CKa42Jqrc9fSFbDjePaXP">K.R.I.T.</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0k7Xl1pqI3tu8sSEjo5oEg">Paul Wall</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4fpwOzxFRMVGfd197dKIdY">Boldy James</a> and were among the guest contributors. The next year, Bun opened a brick-and-mortar location of his formerly pop-up-only Trill Burgers restaurant in Houston. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Andy Kellman, Rovi