The average joe goes to car shows to see all the things rappers rap about: rims, chrome, candy paint, speakers, wood grain, tight white leather interiors and DVDs set in steering wheels. Rap music and tricked-out cars just go together, kind of like Sucka Free Records CEO Estelle "Humpty Hump" Hobbs and Screwed-Up Click member Lil' Flip. Everything those two touch seems to turn to platinum. This weekend, they team up with the Carmona Car Show to present the First Sucka Free Records Car and Bike Show.
With performances by Slim Thug, Papa Reu, Baby Beesh and the Wreckshop Family, this car show represents H-town to the fullest. "I wanted to outline all the top labels that are in Houston," says Hump, the mastermind behind Sucka Free. "Our [Houston] fans don't get to see us much, so I didn't see the need to bring in any out-of-town names for this show."
Hump's business acumen has helped make the homegrown Sucka Free into the fiercest predator on the Houston rap food chain. Lil' Flip's rumored million-dollar artist deal with Sony was hated on by industry heads from every coast, but when his double CD Undaground Legend went platinum, suddenly Flip was the muthafuckin' man -- something that Hump had known all along.
The Houston Sucka Free Car Show is the first on a whole tour, with stops planned from Albuquerque to Milwaukee. "With us having so many fine cars ourselves, and controlling the Dirty South market," says Hump, "a car show was just another event that we knew would be successful."
The show also features performances by local artists Sucka Free Kids, Keecee and Kayla, and Lil Hump and Clutch. "We like to keep it family," says Hump. "It's building the foundation for a legacy."