No Sleep Til Houston

Already popular in his native H-Town, Paul Wall hit the big time in the mid-\'00s, finding national fame with his show-stealing appearance on Mike Jones\' breakout hit \"Still Tippin\'.\" Shortly after, he had a huge smash with the insanely funky single \"Sittin\' Sidewayz\" off his own album *The People\'s Champ*, which hit the charts at No. 1. Houston hip-hop was suddenly mainstream, and millions of rap fans became enamored with cough syrup, Screwed mixes, candy-coated Cadillacs, and diamond-encrusted grills. Though the masses have since moved on, Paul\'s still doing his thing, putting out bass-heavy party jams extolling the usual virtues of Houston high life. Whether rhyming about the ladies (\"Bad Bitchez\"), stacking cash (\"Money Pt. 1\"), or sipping that drank (\"2 Cups\"), he still sounds good and even gets surprisingly deep on the subject of jealousy and romance on \"1st Time You Say No\" and \"That\'s the Way Luv Goes,\" respectively. Features come from the usual suspects (Slim Thug, Michael 5000 Watts, Bun B, Killa Kyleon, etc.), but it\'s Paul himself who really impresses here. 

After his 2010, Warner Bros effort Heart of a Champion -- an innovative effort for the rapper, produced in part by blink-182 drummer Travis Barker -- failed to put up the usual Paul Wall numbers sales-wise, the People's Champ took the back-to-basics route with this 2012 mixtape.