On this date in 1992, Bun B and Pimp C put out their first studio release, Too Hard To Swallow, and began their highly successful career as Underground Kingz.
With UGK (short for Underground Kingz) being one of the first rap groups from Texas to gain national recognition, it’s easy to see how important it is to the South. In the early ’90s, there wasn’t much coming from anywhere other than New York or California. The only southern rappers with hits were fellow Texas natives Geto Boys and Miami-based rappers 2 Live Crew. When this album dropped, it opened a door for a new wave of southern rap to emerge.
Unlike the funkier, sample-heavy beats UGK became known for rapping over later in their career, this album is true to its name in its production. The beats are a lot more aggressive, and so is the lyricism. Nevertheless, this album is full of hits considered classics of the group’s catalog. These three tracks are “Something Good”, “Use Me Up”, which hails a Bill Withers sample, and “Pocket Full of Stones”, which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 hood classic, Menace II Society.
The album was recorded over a year, from 1991 to 1992, and released on November 9th, 1992, under Jive Records, the early 90s powerhouse label hosting acts such as E-40, A Tribe Called Quest, R. Kelly, and the late Aaliyah. The album has sold 369,511 copies to date and peaked at 37th on the US R&B Charts. After this album, UGK released five more albums until the untimely passing of member Pimp C in 2007.