The South’s Past, Present & Future: UGK ft. Big K.R.I.T. “Grippin’ on the Wood” (Listen & Download)

Yep, there was a time when Pimp C was skinny.

I'll admit I get nervous when I saw this track - the last thing I'd want is for UGK to develop Tupac Syndrome. (You know, Tupac Syndrome? When people put out all of an artists' unreleased material after their death, even though it was unreleased because the artist didn't think it was good enough to put out in the first place.) Thankfully it doesn't sound like that's the case for new UGK track "Grippin' on the Wood".

Not only is "Grippin" a rider in it's own right, it brings together hip-hop's past (Pimp C), present (Bun B) and future (Big K.R.I.T.), which has to be looked at as a passing of the torch to some extent. If anyone's carrying on UGK's legacy - combining soul and gospel with pimpin, candy paint themes - it's Krizza. So if you're a fan of UGK and/or K.R.I.T. this one's a must listen. And if you're not, you're probably one of those dumb fucks who thinks dope hip-hop can only come out of a New York City basement.

Pimp C's posthumous album, Still Pimpin, due out July 12 via Rap-A-Lot/Fontana. And if you haven't already I highly recommend listening to Bun tell some crazy stories about Pimp; he originally told Jay-Z he thought "Big Pimpin' was wack.

(By the way, if we were still playing the "pause" game, which we're not, "Grippin' on the Wood" would earn a "PAUSE".)