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We know Chamillionaire can rap. Sometimes he’ll go braggadocios, sometimes he’ll look inward and get introspective. Other times, though, he paints vivid stories that captivate the listener for an entire song.

After striking platinum with the Sound of Revenge, the Houston MC was poised to go again, but the masses didn’t connect the second time at bat. Koopa’s sophomore major label album was a solid piece of work that was hindered by poor marketing and timing (it arrive just a week after the epic 50 Cent/ Kanye West sales showdown). While Ultimate Victory didn’t impact the charts in a huge way, it was loaded with mature and ambitious records. Plenty of tracks deserve a spotlight, but the highlight of the LP came in the form of “I Think I Love You.”

There have been numerous occasions where Chamillionaire (and basically every other rapper) used a woman as a metaphor for cash, but this time around the idea was fully fleshed-out, inspired, and masterful. On the track, Cham paints the tale of a relationship that starts off great and corkscrews down to hell. The song kicks off with a happy verse detailing all the great things going on in the relationship, while the second verse creeps with paranoia, detailing the threats of other men taking his woman. The third and final verse is cinematic.

“He introduced her to his mother, his mother said that she love her/And after that he discovered, his brother done tried to cut her/They messin with one another, saw her under the covers/And now he gotta show his brother the meaning of keep it gutter.” After finding his “woman” under the covers with his brother, Cham attempts to take her back and when his brother protests, Cham shoots his brother and flees the scene, cash in hand.

“Pulling and grabbing her, now he already damaged her/He throws her in the trunk, and the talks to her like a passenger/And that’s when uh, he hearing the tires peel/He’s speedin out of the driveway, approaching the highest hill.” The song reaches a frantic pace at this point, as Cham is on the run, with his mind racing. “I fought to keep you in my life and this the thanks I get?/Well thanks for all the good memories/I think I’m sick” is the final, cryptic line of the verse as Cham’s character’s gun goes off again and the car crashes.

“I Think I Love You” is as cinematic as hip-hop gets and Chamillionaire paints an ugly but realistic picture of what money can do to relationships around you. The song ends with a news soundbite reporting the car crash, which then leads perfectly into his news announcer record. Ultimate Victory, despite its lackluster sales, was a creative highlight of Koopa’s career and, if nothing else, this song alone proves that he’s still deeper than “Ridin’ Dirty.”

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Chamillionaire keeps the new music flowing, with a cut off DJ Rapid Ric and Trakksounds‘ compilation mixtape. “I Know You See It” has a vintage Koopa sound to it, with the chorus dripping in Houston flavor. Break out the candy painted drop top for this one.

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Chamillionaire drops off another new record while fans continue to await his Poison album. The Beat Bullies handle the production on “Go Getta,” where Cham waxes poetic about being one of the hardest working hustlers in the rap game. Stream it below and support on iTunes.

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Like millions of others, Chamillionaire is a huge fan of AMC’s smash hit Breaking Bad. While the show came to an epic conclusion last year, Cham is keeping its memory alive with a new record. Say his name.

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(VERSE 1)

I made a plan and then made the scrilla/
Made a movie then I made it bigger/
Made the one they said was the man/ go switch up his plan and became the dealer/
Back when Deion would play the Stealers/
Back when Michael created thriller/
I been trill you could listen to Bun and you could listen to Kirko it wouldn’t make you triller/
Sitting back in my favorite villa/ Smoothie on the desk says vanilla/
I told my chic you put in work on this its like the perfect mix it woulda made ya shiver/
Fake it something I can’t deliver/ Shed a tear till y’all made a river/
Y’all cry babies really need to let me be the one to pick your new baby sitter/
Ummm I’d probably pick Casey Anthony/I hope they come take your family/
I need to get my haters up because a haters really just a faker fan to me/
I see through your fake philanthropy/ A faker would hate to stand with me/
They see that I’m stackin’ mail but you lazy beggers wouldn’t get a stamp for free/
Embarrassments/ Have to pardon my absence/
Cuz I refuse to let you lil mini wannabes talk about me in past tense/
You ain’t baller go sit on that bench/
Merci beaucoup I tell em that’s French/
Took one percent and put it in my kitchen now all my tables got cash dents/
Used to move crates like this ain’t narcotics/
They can talk money but they ain’t no grinders/
Behind dark tint feeling like J Prince/ Every time you see me you should say your high ness/ Now you in the presence of the H Town’s finest/
The main one that made the candy paint so timeless/
Told me money talks/ Went into the vault/ You can look at me and you can see it ain’t no silence/

(HOOK)

H Town Legend/ H Town Legend/
H Town Legend/ H Town Legend/
Kinda like Pimp kinda like Bun kinda Like Face and Devin/
You are now in the presence of an H Town Legend/

(Verse 2)

Got the game from Lil O & ESG/
E had the candy blue EXT/
Wanted me a lac like Lil KeKe/
Now I got more cars than a DMV/
My was OG was Dj DMD
Repping for Hawk and Pat
Cuz these wack rappers ain’t seen me/
Im talking bout real life not PS3/
Big Moe was the H Town’s BIG/
Club Oasis I was VIP/
I said one day I’ll be an OG/
Now the hustlaz in the street tryin’ to be like me/
Used to send the product through COD
Police keep asking me to see ID/
Slim Thugga taught me how to ride on vogues/
But Pimp told ya that the g a m e ain’t free/
Ugh used to wanna be a baller just like Lil Troy/
Now I’m rolling in a car that some would kill for/
Been a minute since ya seen me on the Billboard/
Don’t get it twisted this the city that I built boy/
Everybody always askin if I still tour/
Anybody sellin here will say I sell more/
When they see ya really happy then they kill joy/
Been a baller so you know that Ima still score/
Had a slab so I went and got a roadster/
Double seated so I didn’t get a chauffeur/
See I was really underground for a long time/
Then I popped up out the ground like a gopher/
Wait a sec I gotta shoot out to the Clover/
Cuz in a minute like Flip its game over/
I don’t really wanna have to say I told ya/
But wait a couple minutes and I promise you gonna know a….

(HOOK)

H Town Legend/ H Town Legend/
H Town Legend/ H Town Legend/
Kinda like Pimp kinda like Bun kinda Like Face and Devin/
You are now in the presence of an H Town Legend/

(VERSE 3)

The mixtape god who could be against you/
I got you Texas and you know I meant to/
Drop the album like last year
Cuz im the dopest here and got the most potential/
merk instrumentals just with my mental/use a pen and pencil like a utensil /
sharpen a pencil like its a ginsu/ Stick my weapon into your credentials/

ughh ooohh kill em/

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Over the weekend, fans celebrated the life of the legendary DJ Screw on the 13th anniversary of his death. Aside from furthering Houston’s presence in the rap scene, the DJ was the innovator behind one the most recognizable sounds ever: chopped and screwed. The hazy, slowed vocals over jarring cuts and chops take on a life of their own and bring an entirely new dimension to songs. The sound is ubiquitous within Houston music and is generally the first thing that comes to mind when fans think of the city’s music (save for, perhaps, grillz). Following Screw’s innovation, many other DJs ran with the sound, from the likes of Michael Watts of Swishahouse fame to OG Ron C, who is carrying on the tradition today. While the difference between great and terrible screwed remixes is vast, a properly-executed one can be even more enjoyable than the original. Therefore, in honor of DJ Screw, we’ve compiled a brief list of some familiar songs that are better slower.If you’re looking to get your feet wet in the sound, this is the pool for you. Enter the land of Screwston below.

Westside Connection – “Bow Down”

DJ Screw takes the piercing horns provided by Bud’da on the original version and muffles them in a sea of dirty sprite. The result is a much more menacing and scary threat than Westside Connection’s angry original.

UGK – “One Day”

UGK’s classic off Ridin’ Dirty is already melancholy, but DJ Screw manages to milk a little more sorrow out of Bun and Pimp’s vocals. The high-pitched harmonizing of the chorus is gone and replaced by tortured crooning.

Chamillionaire featuring Z-Ro – “Denzel Washington”

As mentioned, DJ Screw was the pioneer, but plenty of other DJs followed suit and put their own twist on the screwed & chopped sound. Michael “5000” Watts goes back a long way with Chamillionaire, and has remixed plenty of his records. “Denzel Washington,” though, off Cham’s Mixtape Messiah 7, is one of the standouts. Accompanied by another Texas legend in Z-Ro, Chamillionaire’s fast-paced flossing stops to smell the purp here.

Drake – “Marvin’s Room”

Houston may be home to the screwed sound, but you don’t need to be from there for your music to fit. Drake’s music has been screwed and chopped plenty of times. In fact, Ron C has chopped up all of the Toronto rapper’s albums in full. The undeniable winner, though, is “Marvin’s Room” (okay, “Trust Issues” is up there, too). The drunk dial has never sounded sadder and more desperate than it does right here.

The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

Continuing with Ron C’s Toronto connections, here he manages to make The Weeknd’s music sound even darker. “Wicked Games” gets turned on its ear as Abel‘s vocals cry out in pain over a plethora of chops.

Bonus: Big HAWK – “I’d Rather Bang Screw”

Another fallen Houston legend, Big HAWK, delivered a classic when he professed his love for DJ Screw and the whole chopped and screwed sound. While it doesn’t have a non-screwed counterpart to compare it to, it’s only right to pay homage to the song as it encapsulates the entire city and sound.

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