UGK Album: “Ridin' Dirty”

UGK RIDIN DIRTY is one of the best rap albums of all time. Since POCKET FULL OF STONES on the MENACE II SOCIETY soundtrack came out in 1991 I have been a true PIMP C and BUM B SWISHER SWEET SMOKIN supporter. This album jams from start to finish . ONE DAY and PINKY RING ARE THE TOP 2 SONGS although every other song is just as good. I like the way they use live instruments with droppin bass and super crisp lyrics. UGK has been on several No Limit releases and No Limit should be honored to have them. I am lookin straight forward to DIRTY MONEY it was supposed to release back in April but it was pushed back until today 10-26-99 Pick it up I am sure it will be TIGHT but I dont think anything can outdo RIDIN DIRTY. KEEP IT TIGHT UGK AND I GOT YOU IN THE CD CHANGER 24-7. KEEP SMOKIN---TO THE ORIGINAL DOWN SOUTH HUSTLERS !!!!!

Like the title mentions, I don't like southern music. There are a few exceptions though. I love hiphop (mostly up-north and east coast style). However, Bun B is one of the NASTIEST on the mic. I love these guys albums. Murder is a classic beatwise and lyrically. One Day relates to me seeing I have lost close friends to the game. Diamonds and Wood is a nice song to sit back and chill to. Touched is a raw song. 3 in da mornin' is a nice song as well. I love everything about UGK and all their albums. Don't sleep on Bun B's flow and Pimp C's beats any more!!!!!!!!!!

U.G.K.'s 1996 album "Ridin' Dirty" is a great showcase of Texas hip hop that would prove very influential. Rappers Pimp C and Bun B were already two albums deep when they dropped this one, and in my opinion it's the best album they've ever released. "Ridin' Dirty" is an album that's centered around simple yet very appealing production. The laidback grooves are bass-heavy and funky, but without the synths, horns, and extra instrumentation you might see on a g-funk album of this era. They're rolling beats meant for top-down cruising and chilling, and nine of the album's thirteen tracks are five minutes or longer. Most songs are pretty hooky, and the choruses are either rapped or delivered by a female singer, this can add or take away from the given song on "Ridin' Dirty." Former Rap-A-Lot in-house producer N.O. Joe is very involved here, and he's one of the South's finest producers ever. I don't think anyone would ever call Pimp C and Bun B lyrical geniuses, but for the most part what they lack in pure lyricism they make up for in style and character. Their tales of crime, violence, and women or their talk of cars and materialism are not out of the ordinary for a gangsta rap record at all. However, they both have very distinctive deliveries and unique drawls and accents that could not be mistaken for anyone but Texas natives. They have good flows and chemistry, working very well together. "Ridin' Dirty" has a few truly classic cuts, and the rest of the songs are pretty good, there's only a very few that I don't really like, so it's actually a pretty consistent work. I don't believe it's a classic on the level of some of Scarface or Geto Boys' work, but it's one of the finest albums to come from the hot Houston scene of the mid-90s. I highly recommend "Ridin' Dirty" to fans of southern or even west coast rap, it's a great album for the car and the summertime and it's very entertaining.

After the intro comes one of my two favorite songs on the album, "One Day." Using a classic Isley Brothers sample and the album's greatest rolling, bass-heavy beat, Pimp C and Bun B deliver some of their best rhymes in a laidback manner. The depressing subject matter and perfect production make this song a true southern classic. "Murder" is tough and upbeat but still has the heavy riding quality of the slower songs on this album. "Pinky Ring" is fast and funky, it's not my favorite because the flossy lyrics don't really go anywhere and I don't like the hook. "Diamonds and Wood" is a showcase of the excellent slow and funky production at its best, it's great to just let it roll for over five minutes. "3 in the Mornin'" comes next, a solid track but not one of the best, the production is simple and the hook isn't great. The 3-2 collaboration "Touched" is very good, it's got some mid-tempo, catchy funk to make your head nod, and this is the song with the infamous "Now once upon a time not too long ago, a n...a like myself had to strong-arm a h.." verse. "F... My Car" is about deceptive women, some basic gangsta rap. The N.O. Joe aided "That's Why I Carry" is nice, and I also like "Hi-Life," a profile of the crime-ridden life of a successful hustler. The nice but not too memorable "Good Stuff" comes before the absolutely classic title track. I totally love this song, it's one of the most laidback, chilled-out rap songs ever. The production is just awesome, and the lyrics and hook do it perfect justice. The outro is almost ten minutes long and not worth listening to more than once even though it has a nice beat, because it's just spoken shout-outs.

In my opinion, "Ridin' Dirty" is the best album U.G.K. ever put together, and it's a really fun listen. It's not perfect by any means, but it's certainly worth owning for any hip hop fan. The deep grooves, rough styles, and southern drawls will have most listeners coming back for more I'm sure. If you like this album, I might also recommend U.G.K.'s first two albums

and

, as well as Scarface's

and E.S.G.'s

.

This is a personal classic of mine....The album dropped almost 9 years ago, I cant believe its been that long!!!

Overall, its one of the best hip hop albums ever produced...Bun B and Pimp C rip the beats apart....Classic material throuout...IF ya haven't come across this album, pick it up now---you'll love it

This album ranks up there with Nas's Illmatic, Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, Dr. Dre's Chronic, and the first three A Tribe Called Quest Albums. Ridin' Dirty is so smooth and it still bangs in my ride and this album is 7 years old. The best songs are "One Day," "Murder," "Pinky Ring," "Diamonds & Wood," and my personal favorite along with track 5 is "Hi-Life" because that song is so real. These are no sugarcoated, powder puff rappers that you hear on the radio. UGK is too real. Get UGK's entire collection because they never put out a wack album. Even their "Side Hustles" album which is more like a guest appearances greatest hits is their worst album and that's bangin'.