Given his non-stop nationwide travels, a local performance by Houston’s hip-hop legend Bun B is a rare treat. That fact wasn’t lost on a University of Houston crowd and fans of the Bayou City’s unofficial mayor, who witnessed yet another H-Town Takeover as the Trill OG took over TDECU Stadium for a special, private celebration.
Bun B hit the Coogs House to serve up his super-buzzy Trill Burgers, which, as CultureMap reported, were named the best burger in America by Good Morning America.
The OG and his Trill crew served hundreds of smashburgers at the event; later, the frequent CultureMap TasteMarker Awards host (he even debuted his Trill Burgers at last year’s event) performed a handful of his landmark hits and teased his new single “Red Alert,” which he recorded with UH alumnus and fellow H-Town rapper Paul Wall for the 2022 Houston Cougars football team.
“I think these Coogs are going to have a blockbuster season,” Bun B, a noted sports fan, said at the event. “There’s a lot of pride in this city and for this university. This is the perfect time and place for a song like this.”
Speaking of a perfect time, it was also a perfect time for the hip-hop icon to unveil a limited-edition NFT (Non-Fungible Token) created by popular Houston artist Franky Cardona. Members of TDECU received digital NFT gifts from the duo, who collaborated on a portrait of Bun B with various city landmarks, all crafted in Cardona’s signature street-art style.
Houston’s rap icon joined Cardona for a moderated Q&A session; afterwards, Cardona presented Bun B with the original art on canvas. “This is my first NFT,” Cardona said. “It’s been an incredible honor to collaborate with Bun.”
Coogs and UH fans will be referring to the school stadium as TDECU for quite some time. At the event, TDECU announced that its name will remain on the stadium through 2034. The partnership also includes funding for initiatives such as financial literacy education, support for the UH food pantry, and more programs benefiting UH students, alumni and the community, according to a press release.
“We’re very grateful to all our members who have supported this relationship,” said TDECU president and CEO Isaac Johnson. “It was a wonderful celebration with Bun B and the drop of our NFT and the beautiful artwork; we’re so excited. We look forward to continuing to grow these relationships that we have. Ultimately, it’s to benefit our students here and the future generations and teach them about financial literacy and their own financial journey.”
Thought the Coogs just fell to the Texas Red Raiders in a frustrating, double-overtime loss that head coach Dana Holgerson said saw “...just a whole lot of stupid stuff,” with hope, this new jam should help motivate the team when it takes on Kansas on Saturday, September 17.
Franky Cardona (left) reveals his Bun B art with the hip-hop legend.
