During the time that the duo UGK made rhymes together, they provided beats that both blew fans away and inspired other artists to reach for more. UGK stands for Underground Kings and consisted of Texas rappers Bun B (Bernard Freeman) and Pimp C (Chad Butler). The two joined up while still in their teens and started working together. They were the quintessential Southern rappers with top rhymes and an attitude to match. They started putting out rhymes by the late 1980s and soon secured a major label deal with Jive Records. They released their debut album, Too Hard to Swallow in 1992.

Their first album started tuning fans in to this talented duo, and their 1994 sophomore release, Super Tight, charted at number nine on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 95 on the Billboard 200. The album paved the way for their Billboard top 15 release Ridin' Dirty, which dropped in 1996. 2001's Dirty Money performed similarly on the chart to its predecessor, reaching number 18 on the Billboard 200. When the group released Side Hustles the next year, it marked a hiatus for the duo. The break in releasing albums was not because of internal problems, however.

Pimp C was sentenced to eight years in prison because of an aggravated assault charge stemming from an incident involving an argument with a woman at a mall. The incident also involved Pimp C showing a gun. He entered prison in 2002, leaving Bun B to start releasing solo albums. He released a mixtape before releasing his first solo release Trill. After serving four years of the sentence, Pimp C was released and the duo got back to work. In 2007, they released a self-titled album, which ended up being their most successful album to date. UGK's next release was in progress when Pimp C was found dead in a L.A. hotel room at the end of 2007. Bun B announced that a final album will be released posthumously.