S.L.A.B. (Slow Loud And Bangin)

S.L.A.B. (Slow Loud And Bangin) came out of Houston in the late 1990s, a group anchored by Slim Thug. Their music was Southern hip-hop with a specific, local feel, built around the car culture and street life they knew. Songs like 'In A Slab' and 'When We Pull Out' were straightforward about that world, delivered with a slow, heavy beat that matched the name.

They put out their first album in 2002 and had a breakout moment a couple years later with 'Back At It Again'. The track got some national attention, and they followed it with albums like 'The Album' in 2005 and 'Life as a Playa' in 2007. The group's lineup included other Houston rappers who were building their own names around the same time, like Paul Wall and Chamillionaire.

Their lyrics sometimes drew criticism, and members had run-ins with the law, but the music kept a steady local audience. They weren't trying to smooth out the edges. Tracks like 'We Represent H-Town' and 'Damn You So Gangsta' were just what they said, representations of a particular place and attitude. By the end of the 2000s, after releases like 'Kidnap & Ransom' and 'The Boss', the members were mostly focused on solo work, but the S.L.A.B. catalog stayed a solid piece of Houston's rap sound from that era.