I might not be the best person to write a review of Bun B’s 2024 All-American Take Over at the Houston Rodeo, as I am a hip-hop nerd of the mindset that most anything in rap music that really went super mainstream after 1996, or so, really wasn’t that great. I also realize that I am of a certain generation and heavily in the minority here. So, when hip-hop was really blowing up into the mainstream in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I was listening to underground tapes from New Orleans, Chicago, Memphis and of course Houston, and didn’t pay a lot of mind to what was really blowing up.
I felt that Bun B’s first two takeovers spoke directly to me. Year one featured all my favorites and friends from Houston that I got to watch come up with my own eyes. Seeing Bun B alongside Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Lil Keke, Devin the Dude and everyone else who made it up out the H on one stage made for one of the most incredible concerts I have ever witnessed. Year two, Bun brought out many of the heavy hitters from across the south including Big K.R.I.T., Eightball & MJG and Chalie Boy, all artists who I was listening to on cassettes and CDRs way before most people had ever heard of them outside their cities. UGK’s Trill Azz Mixes meant way more to me than anything Roc Nation or Death Row ever put out, so seeing them on an event of this scale was mind blowing.
And then came year three. What could Bun do to possibly top what he already gave us in the first two? His first artists to come out of the night were E-40 and Too Short. This of course was huge to me, because in the early days of Houston rap, even Pre-UGK, E-40, Too Short and lots of the Bay Area legends were coming to Houston on the regular, and a lot of the early Rap-A-Lot artists would collaborate and do shows and songs with them. It was like there was a bridge that spanned from Houston to Oakland, the two towns were connected. So it was only right to bring them out as the first guests.
After Bun B exploded on to the stage with his band, and DJ Domo on the wheels for an incredible rendition of his hit single, “Draped Up,” the Underground King introduced E-40 who set the crowd on fire with his back-to-back hits “Snap Ya Fingers” and “Tell Me When To Go.” I knew those songs were hits but I never thought that 75,000 people in Houston would ever be rapping along to them both inside a football stadium. I also never expected a stadium like that to even allow Too Short, the king of the curse words to come rock that stage and have an entire stadium chanting “Biaaatch” (multiple times!). Too Short’s “Blow The Whistle” is a huge hit, but it was when he dropped “In The Ghetto” that I started to get in my feels a bit. Thinking back to when that song was one of the only videos that MTV and BET (and local late night street video shows) were playing from a west coast artist who didn’t sound anything like his New York contemporaries, I remembered how revolutionary a song so simple and poignant could be to a burgeoning world of hip-hop fans.
Nelly was probably the artist who most made sense to have on a rodeo, as he is, hands down, one of the straight up pioneers of mixing the rap world into the country world. (Thanks dude, lol.) Naw but seriously, his country grammar opened the doors for a lot of artists in his generation to be heard by people who may have gotten their first taste of rap music from his hits. He broke the doors down for countless collaborations and his catchy songs were some of the coolest sounds breaking through to the mainstream during his early years.
While most rap shows the world over could stand to have more women on the line up, Bun brought us one of the true greats and Eve did not disappoint. I sometimes forget some of the hits from certain eras and then a song like “Who’s That Girl” and “Let Me Blow Your Mind” pops up and brings back a lot of memories. Her exquisite voice and no-nonsense attitude took over the arena big time with, once again, everyone swaying and singing along with one of our culture’s greatest Queens. The band pulled off her huge sounding productions perfectly.
I certainly didn’t ignore the world of Crunk music in its heyday, as it was damn near impossible to. That sound took over like no other and real talk was a big part of turning eyes and ears to the south and its hip hop culture. I can’t lie, there were so many collaborations back then, I didn’t always know whose songs were whose but man, the Ying Yang Twinz came out with their unstoppable energy and reminded us all just how much they truly brought to the table. They ran through a medley of “Say I Yi Yi,” “Miss New Booty,” “Whistle While You Twerk,” and “Get Low” and I think the whole building started shaking. That crowd was as crunk for those songs as they would be if the Texans went ahead and won them a Super Bowl, at home. It was wild.
Next up the Big Boss Rick Ross hit the stage. All I can say is, Ying Yang Twinz are a tough act to follow, but Ross delivered and had the whole place rapping along to “Hustlin’” and a couple more of his biggest hits. It was great to hear him shout out our Texas legends like UGK, Fat Pat and DJ Screw. It was also great to see a Houston up and comer who has pretty much taken over in 2023-24 be a part of this line up of legends. That Mexican OT is undeniably taking that classic Houston sound, making it his own and keeping it alive with a whole new generation of fans. His imagery and country swagger also made him a great pick for this line up. I take great joy in seeing our Houston underdogs get their flowers, and he for sure did that night with the whole crowd losing their shit to his hit “Johnny Dang.”
Once again Bun and crew curated a SLAB parade in which some dope cars came out onto the floor and showed out. Driven by Slim Thug, Lil Keke, LE$, Rayface and some others this was a really fun interlude every year.
Then THANKFULLY we got to hear more from Bun B (I’m obviously biased but I wanted more Bun songs at that point, I had no idea what he was about to bless us with in the end). He rocked a super hype verse from “Get Throwed” then brought the lights and the house down with an acoustic version of one of UGK’s greatest songs, “One Day.” Accompanied by Houston native and huge star Ryan Bingham on acoustic guitar, it was another one of those moments that you never would imagine could happen, but Bun B made it happen. Made that beautiful song even more beautiful.
I’m one of those cynical, elderly, dickheads who has barely ever heard a Drake album, but saw him in concert before he blew all the way up and have always had an appreciation for what he brings to the table. As much style and swagger as Drake delivers, he also brings a certain level of realness. Plain clothes, approachable demeanor and a very unique style that has been copied and done into the ground by much lesser artists over the years. So, it was good to see him come out on stage, on such a line up of legends and basically represent his whole era to 75,000 fans who adore the hell out of him. He performed seven songs, more than anyone else that evening (even Bun) but I mean, the crowd was not going to let him just jump in and out. His appearance supporting the man who looked out for him so tough when he was just a young rapper cutting his teeth in Texas at Warehouse Live, and even smaller venues like Spiro’s in Austin, meant everything as so many people make it and never look back. Drake looked back and smiled onto the city and the mentor who meant so much to his entire career.
OK So I was told that the show was limited to an hour and they had a hard ending and that was going to be it, but we were already pushing 90 minutes at that time. And those 90 minutes flew by, let me tell you. I knew Bun had to come back out and do at least one to end the show, we couldn’t just let it end with Drake, could we? Just like Rick Ross had to follow the whirlwind that was the Ying Yang Twinz, what was Bun going to do to bring the energy and attention right back on him after the biggest rapper in the world just stepped off stage?
Man, that man brought out DMC of the legendary, trailblazing, pioneering rap group RUN DMC to do a version of the song “Run’s House,” aptly dubbed “Bun’s House.” When Bun started out with the intro to the song, and DMC ran out on stage, I personally lost my shit. Everyone around me was in total awe. I knew there had to be a surprise or two but had no idea whatsoever that Bun would/could dig that deep and bring one of his main influences (and literally all of us of a certain age main influence) to the stage to close out such an epic night. The performance of this song with Bun and DMC trading rhymes and DJ Domo on the turntables, was the most exciting moment I have had at a show, maybe ever. It was flawless in execution and meant so much to me, pretty much everyone else in the house and to hip hop culture in general. It’s hard to even describe as it was so monumentally dope.
Bun ended the night with “International Players Anthem” and most everyone came back out on stage to celebrate what was maybe the most epic live concert event in Houston history. And if it’s the second or third most epic, it’s only running behind Bun B’s Takeover’s one and two. It probably all depends on your taste and what era or region you came up in this culture but put all three together and literally no one has done for this music and culture what Bun B has done, both on the stage, on record and even more so behind the scenes.
