This is a take over by The Rap Hotline!
Hello, and welcome to The Rap Hotline on Cougar Soul. I'm Joshua Braggs, UH Student, founder and content creator for ‘’ The Rap Hotline.’’
On October 20th, I had a great opportunity and the blessing to interview rap legend and entrepreneur, Bun B from the legendary group in music history, UGK after the event that he was speaking at hosted by The African American Studies department at The University of Houston with the wonderful Dr. Tara T. Green.
If you don’t know who Bun B is, then I suggest you should listen to his verse on ‘’Murder’’ by UGK or ‘’Uptown’’ by Drake (my personal favorite). If Southern Hospitality was a person that just happens to rap in one of the greatest rap duos in music history, it would be Bun B. His big white smile when he greeted me before the interview let me know from the jump that this interview was going to be a fun one. Read below some of the questions I asked and got his honest opinion from.
What Rap Album or Song inspired you to pursue your career in rap?
That’s actually a great question. I was a fan of a lot of songs. I was very heavily influenced by Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and other guys from that era. Rakim for me was a very big influence on me wanting to become a rapper. Because rap was cool, culturally, it was something that I loved being engaged in listening to and stuff like that. A lot of artists made me love being a part of the culture. I remember being home from school and seeing the video of ‘’Microphone Fiend’’ with Eric B. and Rakim and I remember thinking ‘’ Man, I want to be cool like that one day. I want to walk in the room and be cool like Rakim is cool.’’And that was the day I actually wanted to be an active part of the culture and I knew there was no turning back from there.
As an entrepreneur like yourself with ‘’Trill Burgers’’, what are some tips you have for artists who are trying to be successful and consistent in the business world with their own brand?
Anticipate losses, anticipate obstacles, anticipate interruptions, but also anticipate success, anticipate good reception, and anticipate good business in profit. All of these things are important for you to put into your mind in terms of what you are willing to accept and what you’re not willing to accept from a company. You have to believe in yourself because you’re going to present these ideas for the business you have to many people and the majority of them will either say ‘’ I don’t think that’s going to work’’ or ‘’That sounds like a good idea, but where are you going to get the money from’’. Never let the idea that you don’t have the money to do what you’re trying to do discourage you. Doesn’t mean you can’t find it. Doesn't mean you can’t convince someone to invest in you. Money is only a small portion of the problems that you are going to encounter while pursuing your career path. The main problem is going to be the negative energy that people give you. When people don’t understand your dream, don’t understand your goal, they can’t see exactly the pathway to where you’re trying to go, and if they can’t give you aspiring advice; they will try to deter you. Don’t let the fact that they don’t believe in you or they couldn’t see how you could get from point A to point B. The path is there. It just takes hard work, the willingness to sacrifice, and to put this goal above everything else in your life. You’re a young college student. There’s a lot of parties, a lot of fun, and a lot of dope stuff that happens for a lot of students to take advantage of. One you day got to wake up and decide ‘’Do I want to party now?’’ or ‘’ Party later?’’. If you live life right and put the work in, you get to party at the point of life where you can enjoy and remember it.
Last question, how does it feel when rap fans and rap artists view you as a legend and inspiration on why an artist makes music because of you?
It’s amazing for young people today who may not have been around when we started and may not have the same connection to my legacy and my music maybe as their bigger brother, their uncles, their parents, or whatnot. The young kids don’t have to give me any props. They don’t have to acknowledge my contribution to what I’ve done, but the fact that they look up to people who respect and admire what I’ve done and honor my contributions transitively they also honor them. It’s a beautiful thing. You know, I had a lot of help when I came into this industry. I had a lot of people that looked out for me. We try to give that love back to the next generation and make sure that people can make it in the same way that people tried to make sure we can make it. We can inspire a younger generation of artists to chase after their dreams. Try to make it, put themselves on, put their people on, create industry, create revenue for themselves, put money in their people’s pocket, represent their city the right way, and do all these things the right way. My job is done. You know what I’m saying, it was always about taking what was given to me which was given to me which was culture, a career, a way of taking care of my family, and making sure when the next person came up that opportunity to do what I did was there. In the same way that the people left the doors open for me. I have to make sure to leave the doors open for the next generation and make sure they have the opportunities I have. And because I’ve been able to do that, people have respected my journey and my legacy and they give me my props. I’m just trying to lead by example and show these young cats when you get to where I’m at, you got to reach back, you got to show love, and you have to embrace this next generation so that they feel welcomed. When the next generation of artists come into the culture and they feel welcomed, then their contributions are brighter and deeper. But, if they feel like they are out there on their own, and nobody is really feeling and supporting them, they're gonna be very surface level; because they are not really going to dig deep in themselves and give everything to themselves to this culture. They are going to do just enough to get them where they’re trying to go. So I encourage letting artists know that you like what they do, you appreciate their artform, and keep them uplifted in order to do more.People did for me and I’m blessed to have done it for other people and I hope that system continues even when I’m gone.
It was such an honor to have Bun B tapping in with The Rap Hotline X Black Press and open up about his life and his role in not just the rap scene, but also the business scene. Again, I want to thank the amazing people at the African American Studies Department at The University of Houston for allowing this special moment to happen too. Make sure you follow the hotline on Instagram @theraphotline for more contents on Instagram and Cougar Soul. And follow Black Press at UH and African-American Studies department on Instagram @blackpress.uh @aascoogs.
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