Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email [email protected].
Pimp C
Sweet James Jones Stories (Asylum, 2005)
We're not sure where we saw it, but we once read a line about how the only thing that managed to separate Pimp and Bun was the hand of God. It's a (sadly) valid point, one crystallized by the fact that, despite being a bona fide legend by 2005, Pimp didn't release a solo album until then. That's four full-fledged Southern classics that he let pass without trying to piggyback off of their successes. That's more amazing than you think it is.
Y'allmustaforgotability: 51 percent
This one is actually a toss-up. You'll either know all of the songs on here, or none of them.
Read what Y'allmustaforgotability means.
Best Song on the Album: "Comin' Up"
This track has a few things going for it, mostly notably a) a very solid flip of Luther's "Never Too Much" into the most singable chorus on the album; b) a very fun verse from Flipperace; and c) if you play this while you're driving to Kroger at 2 a.m. to get diapers, it makes it seem like you're on your way to do something way cooler.
Most Unintentionally Expository Line on the Album: "If you gave her a dime, nigga, she gave me a nickel," from "Isa Playa."
This is a great line for a few reasons, but mostly for two.
First, it confirms that Pimp is a stone-cold playa. We're saying, imagine how cocksure and steady-handed you have to be to have a women come up to you and say that she only has a dime to her name, only to take half of it from here. What can you buy with a nickel? Nothing. The only reason he took it from her was to let her know he could.
Second, it also confirms that Pimp has a kind heart. If a girl only has a dime, and you can talk her into giving you half, chances are pretty good that you could get her to give it all to you. That he didn't shows that he cares.
Remember in
A Bronx Tale when Sonny is telling C about how he gives the guys that are working for him enough so that they're keep working for him, but not so much that they don't need him? That's how - it appears - Pimp was. But Pimp was (probably) nailing all of the people that worked for him.
Best Feature on the Album: The aforementioned verse from Flip on "Comin' Up." We're willing to bet dollars to cents that if Z-Ro had his way, he'd re-record his verse again today. Listening to again now, it's surprisingly wooden. Or have we just been listening to
Cocaine too much?
Obscure Fact(s) You Can Pawn Off As Your Own So As To Make Yourself Look Smart:
- Did you know that Pimp was ambidextrous? And that his middle name was Christopher? And that he had six brothers, one of whom played pro basketball with the Hornets for two seasons? And that he could count to 19 in German? And that one time he threw an orange at former Houston Rocket Kenny Smith when they got into a shouting match at a Denny's in La Porte?
- None of the stuff in that last bullet is true. None of it. Sorry.
