Slim Thug, Z-Ro, J-Dawg Arena Theatre January 22, 2011
Houstonians from the Northside, Southside and everywhere in between gathered at the Arena Theatre on Saturday night to celebrate two kings. January 17 was Martin Luther King Day, and the 19th was Southwest-side rapper and "King of the Ghetto" Z-Ro's birthday. Also known as the Mo City Don and, more recently, "ROther Vandross," Z-Ro marked his birthday by putting on a show with his Northside associate, Slim Thug.
After a rump-shaking, who-can-get-in-the-afterparty-VIP competition, The Big Boss of the Nawf moved through the crowd to the circular Arena stage accompanied by his "Not a Stain On Me" remix. OG Ron C brought us back to the days of the Kappa Beach Party with a "Before the Kappa" joint.
At his shows, the 6-foot-6 Slim Thugga is even more entertaining than he is on Twitter. He began by apologizing in advance for forgetting the words to some of his songs, blaming it on his current state of inebriation.
After doing his memorable verse from the classic hit with Paul Wall and Mike Jones "Still Tippin'" - how many times have we said "Hah!" like Slim at the end of that verse? - and a bit of "3 Kings," he asked, "Is this stage moving? It is? I keep seeing the same motherfuckers." When you're on the hunt for a thick girl that's caramel brown, a circling stage helps the pursuit.
Slim soon welcomed J-Dawg to the stage to join him for "Recognize a Player," before J-Dawg performed his own hits "Ride on 4's" and "First 48." When Slim took a quick break to catch his breath, he defended himself by pointing out that he was finally back to being "Slim Thug" thanks to daily runs at Memorial Park. Ladies, he's slim, faded and X-rated...and now you know where he runs if you haven't been following him on Twitter.
As he got into 2009 and 2010 albums Boss of All Bosses and The Thug Show, the crowd's energy continued to build. After his single "Thug," he began a personal rant against skinny jeans, insisting "Thug is still in style," before ending his set with his most recent single with B.O.B, "So High."
Slim prepared the audience for Z-Ro, telling us that we should sing him happy birthday. By the time we were ready to belt it out, "Associates" (from Boss of All Bosses) cut on and Z-Ro, looking incredibly dapper, joined Slim Thug onstage dressed in a suit. The two performed another track, "Gangsta," then Thugga left the stage to watch the rest of the show.