New Music: Le$ Album Midnight Club

Welcome 2 Houston. More populated than the city of Chicago located 250 miles up I-10, H-Town is a South Texas, metropolis. There the Texas sound blossomed in 1996 behind rap artist, The Geto Boys, UGK, and DJ Screw. J. Prince the “Don” of Houston rap, CEO of Rap-A- Lot records has been a staple in the Southern Rap scene since the 80’s. He governs the structure of rap with an iron fist. Paul Wall was quoted in 2015, as saying the rap scene in his city, “has never been healthier,” speaking on the current state of Houston rap. In the current era the aesthetic of Screwston rap has been duplicated by artist like Drake and Asap Mob. Although a lot of it is experimental rap from the East Coast artist, the traditions within Texas rap remain popular. Slabs, wood-grain wheels, candy paint, vogues, and drank all remixed content to be chopped not slopped. Le$ (@SteakxShrimp) has established himself as the king of the underground. His debut LP, Olde English was a cult crusher for indie rap listeners. His hottest record to date, a toss up between mix-tapes Menace and Steak and Shrimp Vol. 1.

The new life of the underground scene lies in veteran producer turned rapper, Cory Mo, and lyricist like Propain and Doughbeezy. As a certified microphone fiend, Le$, has the ability to crush the beat. After a brief hiatus, Le$ re-enters the scene with 4-th album, The Midnight Club. Rappers like Le$ support an influx of the elemental content that brings the classic Texas rap genre, a new life. A plethora of artist rhyme circa ’96 or ’97 with a deep respect for O.G. Pimp C, example Le$ or Maxo Kream. The refreshing rhyme scheme and southern cadence of an authentic Houston rapper are rare. Rap assimilates, merging one coast with the next. The Third Coast, Texas, has set rap trends for decades. Truly bringing his raps from out the mud to the studio booth, Le$ haas a solid fan base. Cloudy from Swisher Sweets, Le$, is a crisp rhyme spitta. All in respect to Houston legends Fat Pat, DJ Screw, and Big Hawk. This tape remains true to Texas.

In the 90’s everybody in Texas owned screw mix-tapes. Cassettes with Texas signature sound orated by DJ Screw. DJ Screw brought us 3’6 in da Morning with classics like “Swang and Bang,” and Lil Keke’s “Pimp my Pen.” This sound developed into a global phenomenon. Now we see rappers from the Dirty South to New York using Chopped & Screwed breaks. The drank infused raps of today would be nothing without Texas pioneers, The original Screw chopped on 4’s and 16’s within a track. We see different variations from Houston DJ’s like BeatKing and DJ Candlestick and more recently beast coast producers such as SpaceGhostPurp who solidified Asap Rocky’s sound. Screw music is a slowed up tempo or bpm. Le$ has a prophetic type of rhyme as he speaks to the current state of hip hop, through trap flows and musical conception. He supplies cunning lyrics with a melodic tempo, coupled with hard drops that provide the bass knock to keep your head nodding. Midnight Club is now available on Apple Music for pre-order, but officially releases May 28th.