Underground Kingz

Underground Kingz
Studio album by UGK
Released	August 7, 2007
Genre	Hip-hop Southern hip-hop
Length	60:59 (disc one) 68:02 (disc two) 129:01 (combined)
Label	UGK Jive Zomba
Producer	N.O. Joe AVEREXX Below The Blackout Movement DJ Paul Juicy J Jazze Pha Joe Traxx John Bido Lil Jon Marley Marl MoMo Pimp C Swizz Beatz DJ B-Do Scarface The Runners Yung Fyngas
UGK chronology
Side Hustles (2002) Underground Kingz (2007) UGK 4 Life (2009)
Singles from Underground Kingz
"The Game Belongs to Me" Released: 2006 "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" Released: June 6, 2007

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [2]
Houston Chronicle	[3]
RapReviews	(10/10) [4]
The New York Times	(favorable) [5]
Pitchfork Media	(8.4/10) [6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Stylus Magazine	B+ [8]
USA Today	[9]
XXL	(XL) [10]

Underground Kingz is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop duo UGK. The album was released on August 7, 2007, by Pimp C's UGK Records, Jive Records, and Zomba Label Group. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Swizz Beatz, DJ Paul and Pimp C himself. The album also features guest appearances from T.I., Talib Kweli, Rick Ross, Big Daddy Kane, Slim Thug, Too Short, Charlie Wilson, Outkast, Three 6 Mafia, and many more.

Underground Kingz was supported by two singles: "The Game Belongs to Me" and "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)". The album received positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 160,000 copies in its first week. ^[11] The album was also Pimp C's final performance before his death on December 4, 2007, in Los Angeles, California, four months after the album's release.

Singles

The first single was "The Game Belongs To Me", produced by AVEREXX. The second single was "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" featuring OutKast, and the video was released on 106 & Park , June 16, 2007. The track is a remix of "Players Anthem" featuring Three 6 Mafia. The video was awarded Video of the Year at the 2008 annual BET Hip-Hop Awards. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. This song was number 10 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and reached number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their only song to chart there.

Pitchfork Media 's "Top 500 songs of the 2000s" listed the song at number 43. ^[12] It was their first album since Pimp C had finished serving a lengthy prison term. ^[13]

Commercial performance

Underground Kingz debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 160,000 copies in its first week. ^[11] This became UGK's first US number one debut. ^[11] As of March 2009, the album has sold 458,000 copies in the United States. ^[14]

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes. ^[15]

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Swishas and Dosha"	Chad Butler Bernard Freeman Step Rideau Stevie Below	Below Pimp C (co.)	5:11
2.	"Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (featuring Outkast)	Butler Freeman Jordan Houston Paul Beauregard André Benjamin Antwan Patton Willie Hutch	Juicy J DJ Paul	4:19
3.	"Chrome Plated Woman"	Butler Freeman Allen Toussaint	Pimp C	4:17
4.	"Life Is 2009" (featuring Too $hort)	Butler Freeman Brad Jordan Randy Jefferson Todd Shaw	Scarface Randy "Big Tyme" Jefferson (add.)	4:07
5.	"The Game Belongs to Me"	Butler Freeman Avery Harris Wesley Harris III Joseph Johnson	AVEREXX Pimp C (co.) N.O. Joe (co.)	5:14
6.	"Like That (Remix)"	Butler Freeman Below A. Harris	Below Pimp C (co.)	3:50
7.	"Gravy"	Butler Freeman Phalon Alexander A. Harris	AVEREXX Pimp C (co.)	4:57
8.	"Underground Kingz"	Butler Freeman	Pimp C	4:33
9.	"Grind Hard" (featuring Young T.O.E. and DJ B-Do)	Butler Torris McKinney Bradley Davis	DJ B-Do Pimp C (co.)	4:03
10.	"Take tha Hood Back" (featuring Slim Thug, Vicious and Middle Fingaz)	Butler Freeman Andrew Harr Jermaine Jackson Stayve Thomas George Hill Avery Stevenson Eric Johnson	The Runners	5:36
11.	"Quit Hatin' the South" (featuring Charlie Wilson and Willie D)	Butler Freeman Willie Dennis Benny Latimore	Pimp C	6:06
12.	"Heaven"	Butler Freeman J. Johnson	Pimp C N.O. Joe	4:20
13.	"Trill Niggas Don't Die" (featuring Z-Ro)	Butler Freeman John Okuribido Brian Jackson Joseph Howard, Jr. Joseph McVey Nick Zesses Dino Fekaris	John Bido Yung Fyngas Joe Traxx Pimp C (co.)	4:27

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"How Long Can It Last" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	Butler Freeman Albert Hudson Cuba Gregory Al Perkins	Pimp C	6:47
2.	"Still Ridin' Dirty" (featuring Scarface)	Butler Freeman Jordan Mike Dean	Scarface	5:19
3.	"Stop-N-Go" (featuring Jazze Pha)	Butler Freeman Alexander Abeeku Ribeiro Antonio Sawyer	Jazze Pha	3:54
4.	"Cocaine" (featuring Rick Ross)	Butler Freeman Winston Thomas Thomas Simmons Danny Shofield Joseph Johnson William Roberts	The BlackOut Movement Pimp C (co.) N.O. Joe (co.)	4:50
5.	"Two Type of Bitches" (featuring Dizzee Rascal and Pimpin' Ken)	Butler Freeman Ollie Moore Dylan Mills Kenneth Ivy Johnny Bristol Gladys Knight Merald Knight, Jr.	MoMo Pimp C (co.)	4:56
6.	"Real Women" (featuring Talib Kweli and Raheem DeVaughn)	Butler Freeman Talib Kweli Greene Skip Scarborough	Pimp C	4:32
7.	"Candy"	Butler Freeman Jordan Jefferson Tekai Hicks Eric Paul	Scarface Randy "Bigg Tyme" Jefferson (co.)	3:30
8.	"Tell Me How Ya Feel"	Butler Freeman Alexander Zachary Wallace	Jazze Pha	4:25
9.	"Shattered Dreams" (featuring Sleepy Brown)	Butler Freeman Ray Parker Jr.	Pimp C	5:14
10.	"Like That"	Butler Freeman Jonathan Smith Craig Love LaMarquis Jefferson	Lil Jon	2:47
11.	"Next Up" (featuring Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap)	Butler Freeman Marlon Williams Antonio Hardy Nathaniel Wilson	Marley Marl	3:03
12.	"Living This Life"	Butler Freeman J. Johnson Patrick Brown Raymond Murray Rico Wade Cee-Lo Green Al Green	N.O. Joe Joe Scorsese	5:07
13.	"Outro"	Butler Freeman Cory Moore	Cory Mo	0:49
14.	"Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (featuring Three 6 Mafia) (Chopped and Screwed by OG Ron C) (bonus track)	Butler Freeman Houston Beauregard Hutch	DJ Paul Juicy J	5:31
15.	"Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (featuring Three 6 Mafia) (bonus track)	Butler Freeman Houston Beauregard Hutch	DJ Paul Juicy J	3:20
16.	"Hit the Block" (featuring T.I.) (bonus track)	Butler Freeman Kasseem Dean Clifford Harris Sean Combs Christopher Wallace Joey Brooks Steve Jordan Carl Mitchell Anthony Henderson Steven Howse Bryon McCane	Swizz Beatz	3:58

Best Buy bonus track

No.	Title	Length
17.	"Top Drop Dyne" (featuring Cory Mo)	4:06

Samples

• "Swishas and Dosha" contains a sample of "From Step to You" by Stephen J. Rideau.
• "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" contains samples of "I Choose You" by Willie Hutch and "I Choose You" by Project Pat.
• "Chrome Plated Woman" contains a sample of "Hercules" by Allen Toussaint.
• "Life Is 2009" contains a sample of "Life is... Too Short" by Too Short.
• "Grind Hard" contains a sample of "Cocaine In The Back of the Ride" by UGK.
• "Quit Hatin' the South" contains a sample of "Let's Straighten It Out" by Benny Latimore.
• "Trill Niggas Don't Die" contains a sample of "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Nick Zesses and Dino Fekaris.
• "How Long Can It Last" contains a sample of "Something in the Past" by One Way.
• "Still Ridin' Dirty" contains a sample of "The Fix" by Scarface.
• "Two Type of Bitches" contains a sample of "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
• "Real Women" contains a sample of "Can't Hide Love" by Earth, Wind, & Fire.
• "Candy" contains a sample of "Bridge Thru Time" by Lonnie Liston Smith.
• "Shattered Dreams" contains a sample of "Goin' Thru School and Love" by Raydio.
• "Next Up" contains a sample of "The Symphony" by Juice Crew.
• "Living This Life" contains samples of "Free" by Goodie Mob and "Free at Last" by Al Green.
• "Hit the Block" contains a sample of "Spit Your Game (Remix)" by The Notorious B.I.G.

Chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position US Billboard 200 [16] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [17] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position US Billboard 200 [18] 141 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [19] 37

References

1. Jeffries, David (August 7, 2007). "Underground Kingz - UGK". AllMusic. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
2. Schonberger, Chris (August 3, 2007). "Underground Kingz Review". EW.com. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
3. "The latest by UGK puts duo in rapper royalty". Chron.com. August 8, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
4. "Feature for August 7, 2007 - UGK's "Underground Kingz"". Rapreviews.com. August 7, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
5. Sanneh, Kelefa (August 7, 2007). "Pimp C - Bun B - UGK - Music - New York Times". The New York Times . Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
6. "Underground Kingz". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
7. "UGK (Underground Kingz) : Underground Kingz". Rolling Stone . August 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
8. "UGK - Underground Kings - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
9. "This week's reviews: UGK, Kat, Jonas, Zap, Grace, Emerson & Constantine - Listen Up". USA Today. August 6, 2007. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
10. "UGK Underground Kingz". Xxlmag.com. January 30, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
11. Katie Hasty (August 15, 2007). "After Five-Year Absence, UGK Scores First No. 1 Album". Billboard . Retrieved March 1, 2020.
12. "UGK Score First #1 Album". September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
13. "Bun B Talks About the Final UGK Album". Pitchfork. March 13, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
14. Mariel Concepcion (March 23, 2009). "Bun B Memorializes Pimp C With Final UGK Album". Billboard . Retrieved March 1, 2020.
15. UGK - Underground Kingz. UGK Records/Jive/Zomba Label Group. 88697-08863-2B
16. "UGK Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
17. "UGK Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
18. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
19. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2020.