Let there be no doubt Bun B has hustle blood running through his veins. Since the untimely death of his partner in crime Pimp C, Houston’s torchbearer has continued to grind, releasing three solo joints and showing up as a sidekick on more teams than Shaq. As it usually happens, the hard work has paid off. With the third installment of his Trill series: Bun B and friends have released a smooth collection of southern-fried gangster rap to cap off a great summer of Hip-Hop.
Trill O.G. features few surprises in the way of topic or song structure, relying on immaculate production, perfect polish and unflappable consistency. Bun remains in his mid-90s comfort zone throughout, calling in a few favors to give the album some modern zest. Call it the Senior Citizen Blueprint. The first of two Drake collaborations “Put it Down,” starts with a fierce verse from Bun before descending into Drake’s melodic chorus. The benefits to both are obvious, as Bun modernizes his sounds while providing rap’s favorite Canadian with some badly needed street cred. More natural partnerships form the foundation of the album. Bun, Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti take turns boasting on bank accounts on “Countin’ Money” over a hefty beat. Better yet is the Jeezy collaboration “Just Like That,” a monstrous duet between cocaine rap’s Chosen Son and forefather. The combination of Drumma Boy’s cinematic synths, Jeezy’s brillo chorus and thuggish rhymes make for a car-banging classic.
Killer production drove the rise of the South and this album carries on that tradition. Grimy bumpers such as “I Get Down for Mine,” are the norm, balanced by smoked out keyboard grooves such as the intoxicating “Ridin’ Slow.” The best audio comes from fellow Texan DJ Premier on the powerful “Let Em’ Know.” Though unsurprisingly, it has a classic urban jazz feel associated with the NYC. Bun comfortably rips the string rhythms to shreds, proving his style transcends outside of Dixie: “Bun is on the mic/Premier’s on the track/The South is in the House/No One Can Fuck With That/I take shots and don’t miss/First on your baby momma’s bucket list.”
While decades in the game have given Bun perspective that life is more than pimps, hoez and bankrolls, on Trill O.G. he seems content to stay within that lane. There’s occasional nuggets of wisdom. The grind of touring forms the subject of the upbeat “Lights, Camera, Action.” and Bun gets down right sentimental on the poignant “All a Dream.” But this album’s not about reinvention—tracks titles, beats and lyrics like “Snow Money,” and “I Get Down 4 Mine” could come from any UGK album.
Of course, both those aforementioned tracks are straight bangers. Still, it’s the lack of innovation that keeps this album from breaking that artistic glass ceiling. Showcase track “Trillionare” also exposes chinks in the armor of Bun’s rhyme. Individual lines sacrifice wit to ensure Bun stays on flow, resulting in occasionally corny lyrics such as “we trying to take this to the mountain top, Appalachians’ or “Go ask the white boy/he say he’s totally tubular.” Compound this with a few ill-advised guest choices (Note to Bun: T-Pain’s career is deader than Pimp C and Tupac’s,) and Trill O.G. is anything but flawless even if it never dips too low.
Focusing on such flaws misses the point of UGK and Bun B’s music and legacy. As a pioneer of the sound and lifestyle of Southern Hip-Hop, Trill O.G. is a fitting reminder of the mass appeal this brand of music reflects when executed properly. It may not be the best album of this summer, but it’s surely the one you’d want to ride dirty to.



Popcorn please . . .
good review… way better than pitchfork’s review. they need to change their name from ‘pitchfork’ to ‘ho’ for that shit they pulled. also, i think the t-pain collab is straight…
Good rating …
Only clicked to see how you rated it, compared to The Sauce.
Will read later.
(i would give it a 4.5 for what its worth)
solid album man how can u doubt the trill og
I think The Sauce gave it 5 just cause they haven’t given one in so long and to refute claims that they hate the south (true). I agree, might’ve thrown an extra jail break in there for the OG, but personal taste is what it is. The Pac/Pimp C remark might have been in poor taste lol.
This rating and review is trill.
^^^
I think the ‘s saves the pac/pimp comparison, but barely lol
I agree with the review, this summer has been solid for hip hop IMO… i look forward to the mike posner review… KEEP IT UP TSS!!
Meh.
I thought this album was on par with Fat Joe’s latest.
Couple of bangers on here though. The joint with Slim Thug has been getting repeat play all day.`
By the way Teef was talkin on Twitter I just knew this would have got a 5. I was prepared to play Devil’s Advocate too.
Fat Joe makes Southern music from a East Coast standpoint. He’ll never measure up to the authentic creators.
There’s your Trill Thought of the day.
There is some merit to that Pitchfork review but I think that writeup was more of a response to The Sauce then an honest to goodness review.
BTW – Bun ruined “It’s Been A Pleasure”.
I’m just sayin’.
Cosign ^^^^^
I was cosigning what TC said about Fat Joe…
Dope!
Download & listen to J. Monday “Fastlane” off his upcoming mixtape The Sequel…. http://bit.ly/9dSIxh
Was waiting for this review before I copped it because I’m a late bloomer when it came to Bun B. Definitely gonna go to best buy and grab it now.
Sherm pretty much summed up my Twitter remarks about The Source and their ulterior motive/hidden agenda for giving it 5 Mics.
Bun is a 5 Mic person, a good dude. No one could dispute that.
People might confuse the album and the person. So anyone saying it’s less than 5 Mics might take it as a dis. Separate judging the person and evaluating the album.
All The Source is trying to do is get cool points by aligning themselves with someone whose garners all-around respect
Another well written review from Pat
Bun is a 5 Mic person
—
LOL!! Thats like saying, “hey girl, you gotta perfect set of morals and you are a dime in the personality department, but…” lol
Someone else had remarked that Bun getting 5 Mics from The Source is like giving him a Lifetime Achievement Award.
lol @ Cell
Trill Review
i agree wholeheartdly.
i’ve never read a good pitchfork review of a hip-hop album. i always come away thinking, “what the hell were they listening to?”
I normally rock with yall, but this album is far from a 4. The beats seem hollow and lack any type of punch. Even the Premo joint is underwhelming to me. Bun x Premo should = classic. Not. Bun is great as a guest and part of a group, but his solo material isn’t there to me. This isn’t any different. I copped without hearing the leak just on the strength of all the work he’s done last year and the first half of 2010.
good review… way better than pitchfork’s review. they need to change their name from ‘pitchfork’ to ‘ho’ for that shit they pulled. also, i think the t-pain collab is straight…
———————————————————–
I, too, thought the TPain collab was straight. Pretty accurate review, though, IMO.
BTW, Bun doesn’t get enough credit for his mastery of the word Trill:
His albums are named:
Trill
II (Two, Too) Trill
Trill O.G. (Trilogy)
…not to mention the song with Pain being called TRILLionaire.
I was expecting a 3.5 but a 4 is fair, I get stuck in my ways so it’s hard for me to listen to Bun without the Pimp. But this is waayy better than II, it’s a must have.
Nitpick: Port Arthur. He says it in like every track, guys.
I still need to cop. I’ll be back to weigh in…
Also, cosign all Pitchfork comments. I don’t think they even have anybody over there who even LIKES hip-hop, much less listens to it with any regularity. Like Rolling Stone, only without the journalistic integrity.
Trill
II (Two, Too) Trill
Trill O.G. (Trilogy)
—
Hmp. never noticed that.
That T-Pain song is buns.
And to whoever said the beats don’t have punch, knock or whatever, I gotta disagree. They may very well be hollow and somewhat unorig…but they bump.
This a very good CD to ride out to in the whip.
The exact same rating I gave it… Love the features, though the Pac, Pimp, Trey Songz (Huh?) collab was under whelming, the album provided a nice flavor to the summer.
Wasn’t feelin the Primo joint when I first heard it…now the shit won’t stay off repeat.
solid review. 4 cigs for sho.
I agree with the 4 cigs.
Thanks for giving out the deserved 4 cigs for this album. Truth is there’s been plenty of 4 cig albums this year
I’m a bun fan but for some reason I couldn’t get into this album as much as I did his last one…the beats do bang but I feel like 2 trill had a bit more creativity to them or variety or maybe even soul…any ways that said I still only liked about half the songs on 2 trill (maybe 9 out of 18) but for this one I only listen to 4 or 5…my fav songs on the cd are the ones with drake and obviously let em know, the jeezy ones pretty good too
tired of everybody having drake and jeezy appearances.