Ridin' Dirty - UGK

...effect, with lyricism focusing on ridin' dirty, gleaming jewelry, and living the positive life. It's not like a lot of these other idiotic rappers who flash their jewelry and claim their better than you because of it. No no, Bun B and Pimp C are just living the life and telling us what they do. You can call it... "platinum-plated street poetry". By the way, I just coined that phrase, so if any of you dickbites wanna steal it, you can't. ...
...BUMPING FUCKIN TRACK! Your head will bob mandatory here, Jenna Jameson-style, and the sample in the hook is Godlike.

This is great music. It makes me feel good. That's what matters. "3 in the Mornin" sounds a bit more northeastern than most of the tracks on Ridin Dirty from a production aspect. Xylophones and tamborines provide most of the instrumentation, along with the obligatory base and a little violin that brings it all ... more

Underground Kingz is probably better known to you as UGK. Well... maybe not. UGK is probably best known for their guest appearance on Jay-Z's smash hit "Big Pimpin" back in the late 90s. Bun B did appear in "Big D's Song of the Year for 2006": Chamillionaire's "Picture Perfect", and Pimp C got released from incarceration and as far as I know, is still on parole (remember, I'm several months behind on this rap shit). Well anyways, UGK is the duo of Bun B and Pimp C, and the name "Underground Kingz" is certainly fitting, as the duo have been a mainstay of the southern underground hip-hop scene for several years out of Port Arthur, Texas. They developed a huge underground following, and prior to the release of Ridin Dirty, garnered minimal success on a mainstream level with "Super Tight" and Too Hard to Swallow. Their third album, Ridin Dirty wound up becoming the biggest hit of their career, just barely not making it into the Billboard Top 10, winding up at #15! Ouch!. But hey, it went gold, which is better than shitty cLOUDDEAD. A lot of people have told me that Ridin Dirty is a lost classic. Well as expected, I had my doubts, but I had to investigate.

The album begins with "One Day", which is, dare I say, one of the greatest songs ever made? The music is orgasmically fantastic. The string instrumentation and thumping bass make it sound as southern as possible, but in the most positive way imaginable. Anyways, UGK gets deep, with each member as well as 3-2 focusing on their own personal experiences with death and the loss of those close to them. Anybody who knows me personally knows I can totally relate to this, and I'm sure 90% of the folks reading this can as well. The God Ron Isley says it all with an unbelievably passionate chorus that's as simple and straight-forward as you can get: "One day you're heeeere baby... and then you're gooooooone".

It's easy to tell that UGK was a huge inspiration for now-famous Texas rappers such as Paul Wall and Chamillionaire. Hell, Chamillionaire named a hit single after THIS album. The southern drawl, constant talk of the good life, chrome cars, woodgrain interiors, women, and self-confidence flow like a river through Ridin Dirty, which makes it leaps and bounds over other lame, mysoginistic, "bang bang" southern acts like Master P and those pieces of shit.

A lot of the beats on the album are also varied, but still contain a lot of that P-funk flavor that was hot back in the 90s southern scene. I suppose you could consider Ridin Dirty a worthy fiber supplement to Southernplayalisticcadillacmusik. "Pinky Ring" for instance is just pure funk. It samples Curtis Mayfield's "Future Shock", and gives us a positive spin on women, jewelry, and living the clean fun life. It's sort of like "bling bling" rap, but with flavor, and UGK is a million times more talented than fuckin Cash Money. Bun B quickly becomes the lyrical show-stealer on the album ("Mashin from the scene almost crashin // flashin Cop lights keep a player dashin // Cash-in, on the crack course, paper stashin // With a passion for high-priced fashion"), but Pimp C holds his own.

"Diamonds and Wood" is also fun, following the same formula. A hot funk beat, with a bit of a mid-tempo effect, with lyricism focusing on ridin' dirty, gleaming jewelry, and living the positive life. It's not like a lot of these other idiotic rappers who flash their jewelry and claim their better than you because of it. No no, Bun B and Pimp C are just living the life and telling us what they do. You can call it... "platinum-plated street poetry". By the way, I just coined that phrase, so if any of you dickbites wanna steal it, you can't. Let me tell you assholes, "Diamonds and Wood" is a BUMPING FUCKIN TRACK! Your head will bob mandatory here, Jenna Jameson-style, and the sample in the hook is Godlike.

This is great music. It makes me feel good. That's what matters. "3 in the Mornin" sounds a bit more northeastern than most of the tracks on Ridin Dirty from a production aspect. Xylophones and tamborines provide most of the instrumentation, along with the obligatory base and a little violin that brings it all together. Oh yeah, rough piano keys during the crescendo. It's sick, but there are better songs. "Fuck My Car" follows and is another banger. This song is a bit more laid-back and satirical, but fun to listen to. Pimp C and Bun B trade verses and, sorry to say, but it's clear to see who the better emcee is. Bun B is a beast.

"Hi-Life" is my second favorite song on Ridin Dirty. The subject matter here is intense, deep, and powerful. Bun B and Pimp C focus on all sort of topics, spilling their guts onto the pad and into the microphone. Such situations as STDs, crime, selling drugs, betrayal, pregnancy, death, and all kinds of hardships are touched upon here. Ridin Dirty is quickly becoming one of the most poetic albums ever.

"Good Stuff" is definitely an applicable name for this track. The production samples Fatback Band's "Backstrokin". What's that? You never heard of that song? I'm sure you have. Remember "Let's Get High" on Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001? Same sample. Love that beat. This is just a banger.

See, that's one thing a lot of pretentious underground fans don't realize: you can have all the lyrics in the world and all the metaphors you can pull outcha crackhole, but you also gotta have bumpable tracks, and UGK are the KINGS of bumpable southern anthems that actually don't focus on crap subject matter and above average lyrics. I mean seriously, you can keep ya "Soul Positions" and "El-P's" with the metallic, boring beats. I'd rather be bumpin this in my benz rollin down Kennedy Blvd.

The last real song on the album is the title track, "Ridin Dirty". A more musical piece, with pianos and the like, and Bun B and Pimp C talking about exactly what Chamillionaire did a year ago: racial profiling, hiding the stash, well, you know. Bun B has yet another quotable here, but I think I've put more than enough here.

Yeah well, there is one major drawback to Ridin Dirty is when Bun B and Pimp C try to be gangsta. It just doesn't work. Luckily, it's only twice. "Murder" suffers from a decent beat, but has virtually no replayability. I mean it's not horrible, just not fun to listen to when compared to the laid-back, positive hip-hop and introspective poetry that makes up the majority of Ridin Dirty. "Touched" isn't much different when it comes to subject matter, only with much better production. "That's Why I Carry" sounds like it could be ripped right out of The Chronic (the original, not 2001). That may be all it has going for it. The beat is a darker version of G-Funk, and while it's not bad, it's not particularly good either. It's just a song I won't be listening to ever again most likely, but I can see why somebody would like it.

Is Ridin Dirty a slept-on classic? I wouldn't say that, but it's certainly close. After this album, UGK would take a five year hiatus from rap, and why not? It's hard to top. Ridin Dirty is an experience. The musicianship here is rich and fulfilling to the soul, and the lyrics are poetic and deep, with words that almost everybody can relate to whether you're in a positive or negative mood. The album is virtually void of "anger" or "hatred", and that's something that pisses me off about contemporary rap for the most part. Too much killing. Maybe I'm just growing up, but I'm sick of hip-hop. Nas is right, it's dead. But the more you dig, the more hidden masterpieces you can find hidden amongst the fecal matter. Ridin Dirty will go down in history as UGK's biggest creative as well as financial success, possibly forever, and with good reason. So if you're looking for southern rap that isn't a piece of shit, grab your candy-painted benz (I have two, aye Marat?), a long Cuban cigar, your favorite lady, and ride dirty. Dirtier than Jazmin St. Claire...  

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