UGK’s Dirty Money turned 25 on November 13, and it arrived three years later than its own advertising promised. Jive Records ran ads for the Port Arthur, Texas, duo’s fourth album in some of its late-1998 releases. The record finally came out on November 13, 2001, five years after Ridin’ Dirty.
The wait came at an awkward moment. In 2000, Bun B and Pimp C had their biggest exposure yet as guests on Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin'” and Three 6 Mafia’s “Sippin’ on Some Syrup.” Dirty Money should have cashed in on that heat. Instead, it slipped out with little promotion from the label, peaking at No. 19 on the main US albums chart and No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.
Same day as Ghostface
One detail is easy to miss: Dirty Money shares its release date with Ghostface Killah’s Bulletproof Wallets, which also landed on November 13, 2001. On the main US chart, the Texas duo came out ahead. Dirty Money peaked at No. 19, while the Wu-Tang rapper’s album stalled at No. 34. Both reached No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.
Against UGK’s own history, though, Dirty Money landed a step behind. Ridin’ Dirty had peaked at No. 15 in 1996, and Super Tight reached only No. 95 in 1994. The duo’s first No. 1 album would not come until Underground Kingz in 2007.
Pimp C’s album, by the credits
A count of the 14-track credits shows how much of the album rests on Pimp C as a producer. He produced or co-produced eight songs, from the opener “Let Me See It” to the bonus track “Wood Wheel.” Longtime collaborator N.O. Joe produced or co-produced seven, sharing the first two cuts with Pimp. Jermaine Dupri, with Bryan-Michael Cox co-producing, handled the final bonus track, on which Dupri also appears.
The guest list is a map of Southern rap in 2001:
- Houston’s Devin the Dude on track four
- Memphis duo 8Ball & MJG on “Gold Grill”
- C-Note on “Holdin’ Na”
- Big Gipp of Atlanta’s Goodie Mob on track eight
- Juicy J and DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia on “Like a Pimp”
- Kool Ace and Too Short on the six-minute “Pimpin’ Ain’t No Illusion”
The samples tilt toward soul and old-school rap. “Let Me See It” borrows from Run-DMC’s live “Here We Go,” “Like a Pimp” draws on Dennis Edwards’ “Don’t Look Any Further,” and “Take It Off” uses Barry White’s “Love Serenade.” “Wood Wheel” pulls from the Staple Singers’ “Love Comes in All Colors.”
Recording ran from 1998 to 2001 across studios in Atlanta and Houston, including PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. The finished disc runs 60 minutes and 37 seconds.
Where Dirty Money sits now
Several of those guests stayed in the family to the end. Big Gipp and 8Ball & MJG both returned on UGK 4 Life in 2009, the farewell album that Badiyaa explored through UGK’s ‘Swishas & Erb’ and its Sleepy Brown sample. Dirty Money also sits close in time to another Southern landmark, Juvenile’s 400 Degreez on Cash Money, and the slow, country-soul sound UGK carried out of Port Arthur echoes through younger Southern rappers such as Big K.R.I.T., whose K.R.I.T. Iz Here ends with an ode to Mississippi.
Dirty Money finished 2002 at No. 40 on the year-end R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. The next entry in UGK’s catalog, Side Hustles, followed in 2002.
Further reading
Image: Dom Brady, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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