walking upstream…
BigXthaPlug
photo: boss talk 101 · cc by 3.0 ↗BigXthaPlug
Xavier Landum grew up between Dallas and the small town of Commerce, Texas, splitting his musical diet between his mother's Houston-rooted chopped-and-screwed tapes and DJ Screw cuts and his father's old-school R&B, including the Isley Brothers. After a stretch in solitary confinement reoriented his path, he built a local following through freestyles before 2022's 'Texas' and 2023's 'Mmhmm' broke him nationally, pairing a booming, naturally chopped-sounding baritone with unhurried Southern cadences. His subsequent albums lean further into that eclecticism, fusing trap with soul samples and, on 2025's 'I Hope You're Happy,' Nashville country instrumentation.
the sound in question
2022
TexasBigXthaPlug
walk the tributaries ↓
UGK1990s · Southern hip hop / Trap / Gangsta rap
Wikipedia notes BigX's mother introduced him to UGK growing up in the car, and on 'Texas' he raps 'Used to think Pimp C was a God before he went to Heaven,' naming Pimp C directly among the Texas figures who shaped him; UGK's fusion of blues-based, trunk-rattling funk with unpolished street narratives set a template BigX cites for his own regional pride.
listen: upstream & here
2007
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)UGK
2022
TexasBigXthaPlug
listen forPlay UGK's 'Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)' against BigX's 'Texas' — listen for the same thick, soul-sample-driven bassline and matter-of-fact Southern drawl carrying the verses, both built to sound as good rattling a trunk as they do on headphones.
Z-Ro2000s · Southern hip hop / Gangsta rap / Chopped and screwed
BigX has said his mom's Houston roots meant a steady diet of chopped-and-screwed tapes, and on 'Texas' he raps 'Z-Ro taught me keep my weapon,' crediting the H-Town legend by name; Complex has described Z-Ro's smooth-spitting, gospel-and-funk-inflected street rap as a direct model for how BigX layers unflinching subject matter over soulful, laid-back Southern beats.
listen: upstream & here
2005
Mo City DonZ-Ro
2024
The LargestBigXthaPlug
listen forCue Z-Ro's 'Mo City Don' against BigX's 'The Largest' — listen for the same unhurried, syrupy Houston cadence riding a heavy, soul-sampled loop, each rapper claiming top-dog status without raising his voice; BigX's own 'The Largest' later got an official ChopNotSlop remix with OG Ron C, leaning straight into that same screw tradition.
Isley Brothers1970s · R&B / Soul / Funk
BigX has said that time with his dad meant 'a bunch of old school R&B like the Isley Brothers,' and Wikipedia confirms his parents introduced him to 'the Isley Brothers and UGK' alongside newer rap, giving him what he calls an 'eclectic taste'; that soul-and-R&B ear surfaces in his pull toward melodic, sample-driven hooks rather than pure trap minimalism.
listen: upstream & here
1969
It's Your ThingIsley Brothers
2023
MmhmmBigXthaPlug
listen forCue the Isley Brothers' 'It's Your Thing' against BigX's 'Mmhmm' — both ride a bouncing, horn-and-bass-driven soul groove (Mmhmm literally builds its hook from a vintage Whispers sample) that lets a rich, unhurried vocal tone do the flexing instead of aggression.