Trae Tha Truth's 10 Biggest Moments For Houston Hip Hop

Trae Tha Truth puts on for his city. The H-Town emcee who frequently raps at near-whisper has been independently building an empire for over a decade. In doing so, Trae has worked with about everybody you can imagine. As his circle has grown to include close associations with Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne and Game, it's still very much about the hometown sound.

In honor of his just-released Street King album, HipHopDX asked Trae to compile a list of his 10 biggest moments for Houston Hip Hop. The ABN leader provided some interesting choices from across the spectrum, and they're in no particular order whatsover (according to Trae).
DJ Screw Founds Screw Music

"[The moment] when the world accepted my homeboy’s legacy; my brother’s legacy, DJ Screw and the world became a part of the Screw music. The day that they accepted that music to the rest of the world was a real big moment for us, just coming from where we come from. You’ve got to [realize] that our whole culture came from Screw. So when you hear people talk about anything pertaining to the "lean" to whatever, it’s because of Screw. Screwed Up Records and Tapes is still standing right now. And the reason memories I remember begins with Screw is because of me being right in there with Screw. He made us who we are today. For you to see that unravel, that’s more personal. Being in his house, sitting there playing the game and watching him do his thing. Screw is like a brother for me."
J. Prince Founds Rap-A-Lot Records in 1986

"You’ve to understand that J. [Prince] paved the way for everybody. I call him my pops. He’s like my old man. He’s my ace."
Geto Boys Get The Source Cover

"When The Geto Boys got the cover of The Source, that was real big for the city. “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” was super big for the city. It was on [their 1991 album] We Can’t Be Stopped. It wasn’t easy to be accepted let alone coming from Houston. For that to be accepted and come out on top, that was amazing. Most definitely, man."
UGK Releases Ridin' Dirty in 1996

"It was perfect timing. I remember when [UGK] were on Bigtyme Records. Ridin' Dirty is when they started getting credit that they deserved."

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Trae The Truth, Can't Ban The Truth Album Review

After a lengthy career centered around creating positive events in the Houston Texas, community, Trae Tha Truth's 2009 annual "Trae Day" was marred by violence in the crowd. During an interview on Houston’s lone Hip Hop radio station, KBXX, 97.9FM (The Box), The Madd Hatta Morning Show on-air personality, Nnete Inyangumia, suggested that the violence in Trae’s music indirectly contributed to the violence on “Trae Day.” The ABN emcee responded with four derogatory bars about the morning show host on his 2009 street album, The Incredible Truth, to which The Box (and owner Radio One) responded to by banning Trae’s music from it’s airwaves. The lawsuits, the petitions, the severed relationships that followed in the aftermath of the “Trae Day” calamity provide the backdrop for Trae The Truth’s newest release, Can’t Ban The Truth.

On Can’t Ban The Truth, Trae is at his best when speaking plainly about his ban from The Box and the lack of support he’s received from fellow Houston rhymers. “I keep it loyal but these niggas only loyal to they self / I did it out of love / They only did it for they self” he raps over the thumping bass line on the Young Jeezy-assisted “I Got This,” then again on standout track “The Radio Won’t Play This” featuring Wyclef Jean. 'Clef’s acoustic guitar sound scape provides a sonic detour from the mostly smoke and ride ready production found throughout the rest of the project as Trae kicks his most telling bars on the incident:

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