The 2011 Houston Underground Rap Awards, Pt. 2

The first roundup of acknowledgements of our Underground Rap Awards ran back in March. This is the second. There are 21 awards total and the entire piece is more than 1,700 words, so let's skip right past the cutesy preamble, shall we? Aces. Here we go:

Best Mixtape of the Year Thus Far:

​It got crowded, didn't it? Hash, Propain, Dante, Fat Tony, Tawn, Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy), UZOY, Doughbeezy, Show, Preemo, Le$, Tha Centop, O.N.E., H-Kane, Roosh Williams, Kyle Hubbard, D-Boss, Kritikal, Scooby, Herney, Poppy, Yung Redd, Hollywood FLOSS, Surreall, D-Risha, Dirty, Nasty, Undergravity, Renzo, Justo, Cuddy, Young Sensation, Young Script, KDogg, KAB Tha Don, Yung Truth, Jon Black...

They just keep coming, man. Every single day (it seems) someone new pops up, or someone who's already out there puts out new music, or both. Still, despite all 700 of the names you can throw out that are making music, one tape from one guy sits higher than the rest: Delo's Hood Politics Vol. 2.

The rankings below him ebb and flow a bit, but his tape has stood up as the strongest, the most consistent, since its release earlier this year. At this point, he looks like a shoe-in to land near the upper half of the Best Houston Rap Albums of 2011 feature that will inevitably be written this summer, remarkable considering last year Hood Politics Vol. 1 didn't crack the Top 16. That's a substantial, substantial jump, or, as it's also known, A Reverse LeBron James.

The "Yeah, They Pretty Much Got That One Exactly Right (Best Collaboration)" Award

Killa Kyleon, big brother to the new school, pulled on Lynnie Free's* coattails for "Make Me," a sultry, steamy R&B squish, and walked away with, arguably, one of the most enjoyable songs 2011 has produced. Mind you, not one of the most enjoyable songs in Houston; one of the most enjoyable songs in the country. That's not reckless hyperbole.

*Lynnie Free is Jack Freeman's nickname. He is far too cool to not have a ton of nicknames. So far, he's been tagged with that and Jack-O. Feel free to add your own.

The "Best Tweeting Rapper" Award

Slim is funny. Bun is insightful. Trae, Paul, Cham, Flip and Ro all offer their own appeal. But the most engaging, most rhapsodic rapper on Twitter is the wildly unknown KDogg (@KDOGG_BNFA). Whether he intends to be or not, nobody is as poetic about the mundane as K. Some examples:

"I jus DL tonz of porn on a Library computer, under @J_O_FELONY Login name... Even left a Video playin... #iAintbuHsHittin"

"Fina go Fuckaround in dis Library..."

"I'm n dis WalMart sHoppin w @Marvel_at_Arva.. I aint been to dis byitcH since I stole dem watergunz Last year."

"I respect niggaz singin from da HEART on sum real sHit, but allat simpin, Cryin n beggin aint Cool ifu a rookie."

He's like an accidental Tennessee Williams. See who wins "Best Tweeting Rapper" at the Houston Web Awards, featuring Fat Tony, June 30 at Momentum BMW on Richmond.

Most Anticipated Tape

This award went to Propain last time around. Considering that he still hasn't released Dangerous Mind, it has to go to him again, we suppose.

Also, are we just imagining this, or is Pro getting more and more mysterious these days? It's like he's turning into Chamillionaire 2.0, and that's making him even more interesting than he already was, right? Nutsos. And since we're on him already...

The "Nah, But Now It's Fuck You, Pay Pro'" Award

Winner: Propain. Now fuck you, pay him.