Bernard Freeman (born March 19, 1973) professionally known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz). He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas. He recently released his third official solo album Trill OG on August 3, 2010, which received a 5 Mic "Classic" rating in The Source Magazine - the first album in over five years to receive the honor. Bun B is married with two stepchildren.
Life and career edit:
UGK edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGK
In the late 1980s, Pimp C started the rap duo UGK. He first released a demo tape titled "Underground King" which didn't feature Bun B on the track. Instead, it featured Pimp C's friend Mitchell Queen. Bun B and friend Jalon Jackson had their own group called P.A. Militia. Both groups joined forces and formed group 4 Black Ministers. Queen and Jackson later left the group leaving Pimp C and Bun B so they decided to revert to UGK. The demo Pimp C recorded with Mitchell Queen, Underground King, caught the attention of an independent label in Houston called Bigtyme Records. They then released an extended play titled "The Southern Way". The release of this record caught the attention of Jive Records. While recording their debut album, Too Hard to Swallow, many of the songs had content too explicit for the album, so Bigtyme Records released an extended play titled Banned before the album was released, including all the songs that were too explicit for Too Hard to Swallow. The song "Pocket Full of Stones" became the first UGK song to get major airplay throughout the United States. Their sophomore album, Super Tight... followed. Their third album, Ridin' Dirty reached the R&B Charts in 1996 peaking at number 2 and the Billboard 200 chart peaking at number 15. After releasing their fourth studio album, Dirty Money, Pimp C got sentenced to jail.
Trill and beginning of solo career edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trill_(album)
When Bun B's UGK partner, the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler entered a jail sentence on an aggravated gun assault charge in 2002, Bun B made guest appearances on numerous albums by other rappers and released a 2005 mixtape titled Legends. Singles featuring a Bun B guest appearance included "They Don't Know" by Paul Wall, "Gimme That" by Webbie and "I'm A G" by Yung Joc. Bun B also appeared in a documentary titled Screwed In Houston produced by VBS/Vice Magazine that details the history of the Houston rap scene.
In October 2005, Bun B's debut solo album Trill was released. Singles included "Draped Up", "Git It", and "Get Throwed". The album peaked at the sixth spot on the American Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.
II Trill edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/II_Trill
After Pimp C died in 2007, Bun B returned to a solo career. In 2008, he released his second album, II Trill The first single was "That's Gangsta" featuring Jamaican American artist Sean Kingston. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 98,000 copies. Other singles were "Damn I'm Cold" featuring Lil Wayne and "You're Everything" featuring Rick Ross, David Banner, DJ Corbett and 8Ball & MJG, the latter of which was dedicated to the late Pimp C.
Trill OG edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trill_OG
Bun B's third album is Trill OG. In an interview with MTV Live, Bun B stated that 2Pac is set to feature on the album, claiming "It's a brand new verse." The album was released under Universal Music Group on August 3, 2010.
Trill 4 Life edit:
On October 28, 2011, a song titled "The Life" and produced by 14KT was leaked.
On March 3, 2012, Bun B leaked a song featuring Royce da 5'9" and Redman titled "Stop Playin'" after he reached 400,000 followers on Twitter. He has not announced the song's appearance on his upcoming album His fourth studio album, Trill 4 Life is scheduled for a 2013 release.
Other ventures edit:
Teaching edit:
At the start of the Spring 2011 semester, Bun B joined the faculty of Rice University as a Distinguished Lecturer. He taught a course in the School of the Humanities on Hip-Hop and Religion.
Personal life edit:
Bun B is married to Angela Walls with two children. One of his sons is American rapper Young B, who is currently a member of the rap group Youngest N Charge. Youngest N Charge is currently Bun B's opening act.
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