Super Tight... in Bloomington, MN

UGK
's third release smoothed out some of the rough edges of their earlier efforts without even coming close to selling out, something that not only landed them in the
Billboard
200 album chart for the first time but solidified their status as the leaders of Texas
hip-hop
. Well aware they were going to earn a new audience with the album,
Super Tight...
reprises one of
Too Hard to Swallow
's best tracks as
"Pocket Full of Stones, Pt. 2"
and adds an anthem for the duo with
"Underground,"
a track that marries a
George Clinton
-styled chorus with stone-cold rhymes. The
Bun B
showcase
"Feds in Town"
is the fondly remembered
gangsta
track of the album,
"Front, Back & Side to Side"
gave both
Mike Jones
and
Paul Wall
their blueprints for success ten years later, and
Pimp C
's slow and funky beats reached maturity right here, but if there's one reason
arrived with
, it's
"It's Supposed to Bubble."
The snide swagger so key to the duo is captured in two lines -- "It's Dom Perignon/It's supposed to bubble" -- as laid-back
funk
, deep bass, and jazzy guitar loops all come together in perfect harmony. It's the sound of
finding the perfect formula to take Texas
to another level, two years before their next album,
Ridin' Dirty
, would make them the undisputed champions of Lone Star
rap
. ~ David Jeffries