mr. 3-2 - over the law

"been on these streets for all of my life / gangster discple, get the shit right / rest of my days, i'm reppin the street game / power, pistols, money and cocaine." posing on lowest budget cover, with his grim face pasted over the bentley from the cover of the 504 boyz album. glowering in gucci sunglasses. pacers fitted tilted over the white rag and braids sneaking out the back. the name spelled out in heavy steel letters. silvertop unmarked cd-r and a booking number inside.
    rap legend like only houston has: put it down with rap-a-lot back in the day AND wrecked screw's tapes AND got on texas classics with scarface, e.s.g., pokey, big moe, and for sure you know him from that opening sixteen off one day on ridin dirty (you know... "and if i die-- or should i say if i go / bury me in hiram clarke next to the come-and-go"). a legend from the southside (way down south, fuqua west, down there by z-ro and mo city, almost in the next county), first rapper in houston to call himself the big boss, got referenced with vague talk about real street activity, but then, dormant, no more undergrounds, and only referenced in anecdotes about seeing him gone off wet, spending a little time locked up, and not being able to get the rap shit going like he was capable of.
    gruff new flow, south park mexican with a different accent. rapping cramped together blue pen on white pad writing. this is more of those simple, boring street raps. but just under the surface, complex and unapparent internal structures that you hear on re-listens, close listens.     doing the traditional h-town stuff that everyone in the city made their name off back in the day. not cartooning it up with the punchlines or smoothing it into inspiration. twelve gauges and pistols. regional details. obsessed with street rules. lil o (remember? BAG BACK BAG BACK GIMME FIFTY FEET OR I'MA GRAB THE GAT AND HIT A NIGGA WITH THE HEAT) for the heartwarming realtalk back in the day/look how far we come track about falling asleep at screw's house while making tapes. z-ro for the grim lost in the ghetto track.
    talking proud about gang affiliation on every track. with symbolic talk about six poppin/five droppin and hexagrams or explicit talk about g.d./folks: "six stars and they shine so bright / disrespect my organization and you dyin tonight / take flight to chicago and visit the wild 100s / murders, dopedealin, kidnappins, we done done it / set larry hoover free, that's on a g, my nigga... / six poppin, five droppin, we some brothers of the struggle."
    half underground, half aboveground: half recycled beats and half original beats. splash waterfalls ("need that yayo, or some handlebars, whoever you are [FUCK (with) ME]), locked up, the rest obscure enough to be half recognized but not named. originals, classic soft houston beats that you need for southside legends.


(bonus: trae ft. h.a.w.k. and mr. 3-2 - screwed up click -- off that trae classic, same thing different day. somber, reactionary southside rappers defining what s.u.c. membership is about. trae flipping, h.a.w.k. giving his history, 3-2 with gruff and vague threats.)