The first time the wider Hip Hop audience were made aware of That Mexican OT, he was performing his viral hit “Johnny Dang” with a linen cowboy hat on his head and a chicken under his right arm, rolling his Rs so precisely that he almost seemed to adhere to a different frame rate. Every part of that video triggers a subconscious “hell yeah,” and OT has been sprinting towards a global audience ever since.
The HipHopDX 2024 Rising Star‘s debut album, 2023’s Lonestar Luchador, thanks to its viral ode to the Houston jeweler, peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard 200 chart, and had at least four tracks reach eight-figure streams across various platforms. It was clear that any limits on the young star’s ascent had been removed.
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Now, no more than 10 months later, That Mexican OT (real name Virgil Gazca) has released his second studio album, Texas Technician. Whereas his first was a personal introduction, an ode to his Tejano roots and an homage to Eminem‘s The Eminem Show, his latest effort is satisfied with being a diverse and probing collaboration-forward album. While not going back to the basics, it’s an example of going there for the first time.
OT has an extensive toolkit that he puts on full display here. He can adeptly mimic dozens of flows — from Ski Mask The Slump God to Eminem — and he’s admirably jumpy on deciding a flow has gone stale and injecting a fresh one. His hooks are stronger than ever, and the beats he chooses are varied enough to allow for experimentation but cohesive enough to always sound like a That Mexican OT track.
One of the great successes found on the album is “Point Em Out,” a paranoid and violent manhunt featuring a nonchalantly electric DaBaby carving through the beat like an adder through grass. Others include “Wockhardt,” a compelling analysis of opioid addiction and ‘Mucho Gracias,” an introspective sendoff that drops the OT veil and lets fans see Virgil clearer than ever.
Texas Technician is solid, but not astounding. It’s not by any means a misstep, but neither is it the seminal artistic statement that he genuinely seems capable of. There are too many features and OT is far too generous with his collaborators. It feels like he’s still gaining confidence and tinkering, but in the process operating at a strikingly high level for his résumé.
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He’s rotund, says outrageous things (“I’m the reason why his girl got a rash in her ass“) and has no shortage of quirks and geographic allegiances (think Bay City Action Bronson). He’s a talented vocalist and seems to be nearing a sound that he can call his own. It truly does seem like the sky is the limit for That Mexican OT.
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2024
RECORD LABEL: Manifest/GoodTalk/Good Money Global/Capitol Records
Listen to Texas Technician below:
