Professor Trill
THE BAYOU CITY LOVES BERNARD “BUN B” FREEMAN SO much that he’s been given the title “Houston’s unofficial mayor.” But the Grammy-nominated renaissance man of Texas rap actually hails from Port Arthur, a struggling refinery town 90 miles east.
The surviving half of legendary hip-hop duo UGK, Bun B has become a sort of cultural ambassador for the region. In the past several years, he’s published a coloring book, co-lectured a wildly popular Rice University course (“Religion and Hip-Hop Culture” with religious studies professor Anthony B. Pinn) and documented the rise of Trump as a 2016 election correspondent for Vice News.
The spoke with Bun B about his hometown, his music and the meaning of trill. His fifth album, , is out August 31.
