Bun B already belongs to one of Hip Hop’s greatest ever groups, UGK, but he was close to becoming a member of another legendary Southern rap collective, too.
In a new interview with Apt. 5H, Mannie Fresh revealed that the Texas rap veteran was initially supposed to be a part of the Big Tymers alongside himself and Birdman.
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However, industry politics surrounding Cash Money’s then-rivalry with fellow Southern rap powerhouse No Limit Records prevented Bun from officially linking up with Mannie and Baby.
“Bun actually was supposed to be in the Big Tymers. A lot of people don’t know that,” the producer said. “But I think for reasons that — it kinda conflicted because you gotta think about how weird the dynamics of the South were.
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“Pimp [C] was doing stuff with No Limit; Bun was doing stuff with us. So I think it would’ve made a rift in their group if any of them would have joined [a No Limit or Cash Money group].”
Despite not joining the Big Tymers, Bun B still appeared on the group’s albums How You Luv That and Big Money Heavyweight, as well as other Cash Money projects such as the Hot Boys‘ Get It How U Live!, Mannie Fresh’s The Mind of Mannie Fresh and Birdman’s Fast Money.
Praising his show-stealing contributions to the label, Mannie said: “I swear, some of the verses that Bun put down on some of the Cash Money shit is like, ‘Oh my God.’ I used to be like, ‘How you gonna keep up with that shit? He just said some incredible shit and his flows!'”
Bun B shared his own interesting slice of Hip Hop history earlier this year when he revealed that UGK turned down the opportunity to record a “Big Pimpin'” sequel with JAY-Z.
Appearing on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion show alongside frequent collaborator Statik Selektah, the Texas rap legend explained that his and Pimp C’s label, Jive Records, wanted them to do a “Big Pimpin’ 2,” but they rejected the request for both creative and financial reasons.
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“UGK was Pimp’s baby and he would put his heart and soul into it,” Bun said. “And he didn’t wanna do all of that to get to this point and do one song with somebody and have his legacy perverted. That was the way he looked at it.”
He added: “When we were getting ready to do the next album [2001’s Dirty Money], the label, Jive, was like, ‘Let’s do a ‘Big Pimpin’ 2.’ Let’s buy a JAY-Z verse, let’s buy a beat from Timbaland, let’s get a video from Hype [Williams] and let’s do it again, boys!’”
After revealing that UGK were “$2.5 million in the hole” to their label at that point, Bun questioned whether another big-budget collaboration was a smart decision.
“I was like, ‘If I don’t do a song with JAY-Z and Timbaland, do I still get a Hype Williams video?’” he recalled asking. “It was never, ‘No.’ They were like, ‘Why wouldn’t you want that?’ What? Besides being $2.5 million in the hole from the first song we recorded?”
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When asked if a song-for-song swap deal was ever on the table, Bun said he thinks Pimp C wouldn’t have viewed a JAY-Z verse as “equal value to him.”
