BUN B, TRAE THA TRUTH BALANCE MUSIC, ACTIVISM
Houston rappers Bun B and Trae Tha Truth are known for putting on for the city, musically and beyond.
Both have leveraged their success into other avenues, from teaching to activism. They’ve been on the front lines during a crisis. And both are using their voices to amplify current protests against systemic racism and police brutality.
Bun and Trae show up again this weekend as part of Freedom Over Texas, the city’s annual July 4 celebration. But it’s going to look and feel very different.
The ongoing coronavirus spread has forced organizers to abandon the festival format, normally held on Buffalo Bayou in Eleanor Tinsley and Sam Houston parks, for a virtual parade of stars. It will air 6:30-10 p.m. on KTRK (Channel 13).
Bun B and Trae will be joined by the Houston Symphony, Pat Green, Lyle Lovett, La Mafia, award-winning Mariachi Imperial De America and sibling norteño trio Los Luzeros De Rioverde as well as “throwback tributes” from former Freedom Over Texas headliners Josh Turner, Sara Evans and Hunter Hayes.
Susan Christian, director of the
Mayor’s Office of Special Events, says the lineup reflects “the diversity of our great city.” Bun and Trae talked about the balance of music, activism and life in the midst of a panwe Q: How are you approaching putting this performance together? Trae: You still have to get it done. Before we perform on tour, do soundcheck, and we still give it our all. I’m going in there and gonna put on like everybody’s in the room. When you love doing what you do, you’re gonna do it regardless.
Bun: There will be no audience. It’s just myself with the (Houston) Symphony playing behind me. They’ll be at a safe distance. We’re not doing a full show. I’ve performed for television before, and that kinda falls in line. Outside of the news andemic.
chors and the camera men, there wouldn’t be an audience, anyway.
Q: Does it feel strange performing at a Fourth of July celebration with so much unrest happening across the country?
Trae: I’m fighting for that at all times. It’s all about doing it right for my people and going against those who do us wrong. That fight don’t stop. I always have to put on for the city, no matter what. As far as the performance, I’m also putting on for my people. And then there’s a lot of people who only see me in action on the front lines that aren’t familiar with how dope I am when it comes to music, too. Plus, my birthday is July 3, so why not celebrate?
Bun: It’s still conducive to be using my platform to make people aware. I’m definitely gonna speak to that from the stage. I’d be wrong if I was able to talk to the entire city of Houston and not let them know how I feel about everything that’s going on right now. Trust me, we’re not gonna just go onstage and act like the world isn’t what it is. But it will be a welcome retreat for a few people in terms of having those moments of entertainment.
Q: How do you balance music and activism?
Trae: It’s not easy, only because when I’m in the mode of working and taking care of people, I put my music at the end. If you notice, I never put music out when something’s going on. It’s always about the people first. That’s the conflict. I’m never able to really have a fair run. I’m gonna put a song out about what’s going on. It’s called “Time for Change,” and it’s an all-star lineup. I’m heading it up, and it could (release) any day now. The lineup is me, Styles P, Bun B, Mysonne the General, Ink, Anthony Hamilton, T.I., Conway, Krayzie Bone, E-40 and David Banner. And (activist) Tamika Mallory and (civil rights lawyer) Lee Merritt. It’s gonna shake the world up. But I don’t really care to try and capitalize because if you’re doing it from a genuine place, then whoever’s gonna support me musically, they’ll still be there when we get done.
Bun: That’s the thing. While I still wanna record music and address everything that people are dealing with, you don’t wanna send mixed messages, because the nature of a lot of my music is very aggressive. If I’m gonna be aggressive about something, then it better be about racial equality, police brutality. I was in the middle of several different projects with different artists. I was in the middle of recording an album with Mannie Fresh when this started. I was in the middle of recording an album with the producer Zaytoven from Atlanta. But in the midst of this, there’s a local artist named Le$, and we took a retreat to Sonic Ranch in West Texas. It’s got several rooms, and it’s on a pecan ranch. We were able to go, get a room, kinda do everything we needed by ourselves. We had one engineer. We’re secluded from everyone, we’re isolated, so we don’t have to worry about being in close proximity with people. We’re also afforded the ability to de-stress. It just allowed us to be a lot more introspective in terms of making the record. I think it’s a very different vibe from probably any album I’ve ever done before. I think the album itself and the tone and the themes are very reflective of what people are dealing with right now.
Q: How have you been handling staying at home during the pandemic?
Trae: It’s hard to stay home because so many people are being murdered across the globe. I’m going out to do whatever I can. I just left Kentucky yesterday, fighting for Breonna Taylor, trying to get charges on them officers. We went to Minnesota for George Floyd. We ’bout to get ready to crank up for Pam Turner out of Baytown (who was shot and killed by officer Juan Delacruz). We’re gonna keep going.
Bun: I’m very comfortable in my own space. I don’t need to be around a group of people. I don’t need to be in shared spaces. I welcome this. I don’t really live an exorbitant, expensive lifestyle that would have me needing to be out performing all the time, anyway. Financially, we’re stable enough to weather this. But that’s the thing, I worry about other people. The general public probably needs to get back to work. There is a contingency within the recording industry: musicians, background players, engineers, soundmen who can’t make any money right now. I do feel concern for the people that keep the venues going on a daily basis.
Q: Have you gotten into any binge-watching at home?
Bun: I’m a TV junkie, particularly sitcoms. “The Office,” for sure. “Parks and Rec,” “Peaky Blinders.” I went through the whole Marvel Comics universe again, from beginning to end. My next thing is gonna be to watch “The Wire” again and potentially “The Sopranos.” And there’s a lot of reading to do right now. Being an elder statesmen of hip-hop and someone of influence in the city of Houston, I’ve been doing a pretty good job of educating myself on police policy, levels of reform that may be necessary and things of that nature. I’m working with defense attorneys in the city, representatives from the local Black Lives Matter chapter, and they’ve been giving me a lot of literature and information, specifically with the dynamic between the city of Houston and the Houston Police Officers’ Union, so if I ever speak on those things that I know what I’m talking about.