It’s been nearly two years since Houston, TX was put on the mainstream map by the likes of Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug. Now the first quarter of ‘07 sees Slim Thug introducing his own crew of H-Town MCs. Killa Kyleon, ChrisWard, Young Black, J-Dawg, PJ The Rap Hustler, Rob Smallz, and Sir Daily together comprise the Boss Hogg Outlawz and from the looks of it there’s nothing blue and black about these dudes out of the H.

Thugga opens up the set with a sincere recreation of Pac’s infamous “Str8 Ballin” from the 1994 Thug Life album. Terry Allen adds a dizzy H-Town twist to the backdrop while Slim spits in his signature drawl borrowing a Pac line every now and then on “We Boss Hoggin”. The second track “Wood Wheel” is just as appeasing as the legendary Mr. Lee laces his first of twelve beats on the collection. The lead internet single “Recognize A Playa” sounds suspiciously identical to Slim’s breakout single “3 Kings” this time instead of Bun B and Tip he enlists half his BHO roster. J Dawg does his best at fuckin up a perfect beat from Mr. Lee with his off beat flow but luckily Slim shows up and pops trunk for the last 16 on “Ride On 4’s”. On “Back To Front” Slim, Killa Kyleon, and Sir Daily spit hard over another bass heavy favorite from Mr. Lee. Unlike the fore mentioned “Back To Front” which borrows a screwed line from Bun B for the hook, “Straight Outta Texas” has a uniquely different approach which instead of a screwed sample a sped up Slim Thug line is used for the hook.

Chris Ward who is definitely no rookie in the game goes left of the rest of the album by using virtually no bass on the 88 degree drop top weather crowd pleaser “Rollin”. PJ The Rap Hustler comes hard over yet another product courtesy of Mr. Lee on “It’s That PJ” but the hook turns out to be a fatally tiring factor. The crew’s lone R&B act Rob Smallz does a decent job next to Slim Thug on the very self explanatory “Cheatin”. GL Productions laces there only contribution with Young Black’s solo outing “I’m Fresh”. Mr. Lee laces the last track on the regular album with high prevail on “Heat On My Side” then proceeds to borrow a riff from MC Eiht’s “Growin Up In The Hood” for “I’m A G”. Kyleon, Slim Thug, and Sir Daily instruct new slab riders how exactly to tip down on “Side To Side”. The bonus section of the album (exclusively available at Best Buy) is closed out by Slim Thug, C Ward, and PJ on the Mr. Lee helmed “Give It Up”.

With Serve & Collect Slim Thug opens the floodgates with some of H-Town’s finest and most unique music to date. Instead of hitting mainstream and going for a broader audience this eight man crew goes for what worked in the 90’s and what will continue to work now that H-Town is officially on the map. Naysayers will surely bark at the lack of creativity or the simple but effective enough production but real fans of Slim Thug and the entire Houston movement will bask in the glory of this latest release which happens to be just in time for the warm up!  

VERDICT – 15 / 20
LYRICS: 3
PRODUCTION: 4
DELIVERY: 4
CONSISTENCY: 4