Survival of the Fittest

Trill Entertainment was launched in 2001 with the sole purpose of introducing to the world the street rap sound of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A collision of sharp synths, greasy organ, and tricky drums, the city’s music borrows as much from Pimp C’s legendary work with UGK as it does Mannie Fresh’s production for New Orleans’ Cash Money label. To listen to Lil Boosie and Webbie — the label’s stars — is to spend a day on the corner in the Cedar Grove neighborhood, where all the boasts, threats, jokes, and rhymes are delivered in a deep Louisiana drawl that can sound like foreign tongues to outsiders, but is family talk for the Grove’s inhabitants. And though the Trill family has become famous for dance craze anthems like Lil Boosie’s “Do Tha Ratchet,” there's plenty of Southern-bred soul music in this stew. No one can deny the potent odor of real funk in standout tracks like “Adios” and the monstrous “Swangin.” Best of all is “Same Old S**t,” where Boosie takes us through a day in his life. Stops include his grandma’s house, the local car wash, and repeated trips to the Baton Rouge institution Piccadilly for his meals. You couldn’t ask for a more vivid tour.