BUN'S BIG WEEKEND
Houston rap legend Bun B hosts the ultimate weekend party
Aug 30, 2019, 11:12 am
Brunch, roller skate, and rhyme with Bun B this weekend. Photo by Maigen Berg
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
It's been a tradition for nearly a decade now: the day of celebration known as Bun B Day. But, for this year, the beloved Port Arthur rapper will turn his day into a full-fledged weekend.
Things will kick off on Friday, August 30, with the release of his new EP, aptly titled Bun B Day. "We knew that we were planning things for Bun B Weekend, and I thought, you know, my fans are always asking for more music," Bun (government name: Bernard James Freeman) tells CultureMap. "And I thought it would be fun just to drop a couple of songs to coincide with the weekend."
On this five-track release, Bun will be rapping alongside such young guns as T.Y. (the son of Cash Money rapper B.G.) and fellow Port Arthur rappers GP of 4/5 & P.A. Yung'n. "I always wanted, like, Bun B Day to be a day where you kinda gave back, right? So, I thought what would be a good way to give back to the hip-hop community if I'm gonna drop music on Bun B Day. And, so, I came up with the idea of only having young artists from the next generation. ... I wanted to put them on the album and show that I'm embracing the next generation of MCs that are coming up in this industry right now."
A trill brunch
As far as festivities go, the man has gone all out. On Saturday, there will be a "Trill Brunch," from 11 am to 3 pm at Chris Shepherd's One Fifth Gulf Coast. Bun will join forces with Chef Roble Ali for this gathering, which will also raise funds for mental health awareness.
"This comes from the heart of my wife," says Bun, who has just recently collaborated with Antone's Famous Po' Boys for a sandwich that also benefits Second Servings of Houston. "My wife is very adamant about mental health awareness right now, and she thought that we should bring light to that situation. Because, in our community, we don't really talk about mental health. It's really a taboo subject in the African-American community, and I wanna help break down that wall and make this a conversation that we can start having on a larger scale and start getting people the help that they need."
Trill roller skating (!)
Other events going on this weekend include a skate party (known as "Trill Rolling") at Just Rolling Skating Rink on Saturday night, and an evening of UGK karaoke at Warehouse Live on Sunday night.
Bun and the Astros
But the big day for Bun will be a few days later, on Thursday, September 5.
Continue on CultureMap to read about the special-edition Astros hats Bun helped design.
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.
And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.
ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.
However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.
It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).
Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.
But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.
If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.
Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.
Bulls on Parade
Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.
Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.
The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.
Outlook on offense
We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.
Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.
X-factor
At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.
What does Vegas think?
The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!