[
{
"name": "Related Stories / Support Us Combo",
"component": "11591218",
"insertPoint": "4",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "4"
},{
"name": "Air - Billboard - Inline Content",
"component": "11591214",
"insertPoint": "2/3",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "7"
},{
"name": "R1 - Beta - Mobile Only",
"component": "12287027",
"insertPoint": "8",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "8"
},{
"name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size 2",
"component": "11591215",
"insertPoint": "12",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "12"
},{
"name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size 2",
"component": "11591215",
"insertPoint": "4th",
"startingPoint": "16",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "12"
}
,{
"name": "RevContent - In Article",
"component": "12527128",
"insertPoint": "3/5",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "5"
}
]
Page 2 of 3
What UGK Were:
- They certainly were raw. Listening now, it's obvious how much Bun has evolved as an MC. Aurally, his flow is less tightly wound than it is now (sort of the opposite of how that usually goes) and thematically, it's more freewheeling than it eventually became. When Bun sets his sights on something now, he crushes it into oblivion. (We first saw signs of this on Ridin' Dirty, UGK's third full-length album.) This is why new bloods like Drake regularly tap Bun for features. Also, because he's cool as eff.
- Pimp, on the other hand, drips onto the first track with all the fashion and sway that his sound would ever possess. It was amazing, even moreso in retrospect. There's no arguing that Pimp was the better rapper at UGK's onset, with Bun catching up fully by 1994 and surpassing him by 1996.
- And they certainly were unfiltered. You needn't look any further than the album's first song, "Something Good," which samples the similarly titled Rufus track. This is actually more clever than you'd anticipate. Both tracks deal with similar themes (pride and a love of things that are good, mostly). Bun B just happens to discuss it within the context of kicking the shit out of you while Pimp C frames it with references to your drinking his semen when you 69 your woman because he's already skeeted inside her. Chaka Kahn was probably none too pleased with UGK's adaptation.
- The duration of the album continues in suit, with Pimp providing the flair and Bun providing the substance.
What UGK Became:
- It's not inaccurate to refer to UGK, and by extension, this album, as transcendent.
- Their fingerprints can be seen all across rap's landscape. Headliners in the South regularly big-up the duo. (For obvious examples, see T.I.'s "Front, Back," or, really anything from King.) It's completely possible to tie every album of significance from the South since 1992 back to Swallow. And if you're feeling particularly self-righteous, you might even be able to argue that it's also responsible for some albums that came before it.
- Even far, far away MCs tugged on UGK's coattails. See Jigga's famously referenced "Big Pimpin'" for a substantial example, or even the Washington, D.C.-based Wale's "Chillin'" if you want to show how hip you are.
- The album even foreshadows UGK's own future albums. They've all since dabbled heavily in country rap, focusing on pimping, pussy, levels of trillness (yes, that all started here), regional pride and so on. Also, THTS samples no less than nine songs, a staple of any UGK album. (UGK 4 Life, the farewell UGK album, samples six.) Not to mention their own understanding of the importance of paying mind to rappers that came before them ("976-Bun B" is a clear homage to Royal Flush's 1991 album 976-Dope.)
- Too Hard To Swallow is the rare debut album that hinted at the significance its creators would eventually possess. And it's still only the second-best UGK album ever.
*Seven of the tracks on THTS
were imported from The Southern Way
, an EP UGK released only on cassette in 1988 through Bigtyme Records. So calling it a debut is a bit of a misnomer. We point this out solely because jbell would've eventually done so in the comments section had we not.
