In conversation with him, Houston-born Huncho Bookie knows that it's his time. Off the heels of his recent releases, and even looking forward to his future releases, he’s betting on himself to make it big, not only for himself but for those back at home. The man himself said it best, “This rap shit…It comes in waves…First, this type of music is hot…six months later, this person hot…It's only a handful of people that can adapt and switch every time.” Coming from humble beginnings, with his city and his partners behind him, Bookie has found that adaptation and switch with ease, in the inception of what he considers “His Jordan Story.”
Huncho Bookie, The Hard-Headed Kid, The Wild Child. Despite such rugged nicknames, Bookie's origins in music come from a quite softer side. Citing his single mother and two sisters as inspirations, Bookie’s early ear was in tune with a different type of sound than you would expect. He looked towards early morning soundtracks of Jasmine Sullivan and Fantasia as his first forays in music, which is evident in his dual sound and flexibility:
“That's why I say I'm always in the middle. My music can go either way. That kind of balanced it. A lot of people be stuck in one lane and one general music because that's all they know.”
Not only can you see the versatility in Bookie’s discography, but you can also see the growth he has made as an artist. In the almost year and a half since his last full-length release (Hard Headed Kid in 2021), Bookie has truly gained a lot to get off his chest. “This tape is going to give meaning to my name. Like this new tape, they're going to be like, oh yeah, that's The Wild Child. That's that hard-headed kid. They can understand the meaning behind that. Like, it's going to give a lot. It's going to give a lot more into who I am,” Bookie explains. This has been evident from the consistent "Bookie Thursdays" that saw a slew of single releases/music videos drop every Thursday over the last three months of 2022.
He looks toward reflecting on the loss of his partners and issues with the law, which has really opened his field of vision and allows him to paint a story of his life to the listener, his personal “Michael Jordan Story”:
“This shit like a Michael Jordan story. Like, this shit really came from nothing. For real. This shit came from noodles to steaks. Like, this shit, it moved so fast and so slow. Like, for everybody else, they probably feel like this process went fast. Like, damn, it's only been a year. But for me, this shit felt like 100 years. Because it was 20 years of nothing and two years of something, you know what I'm saying? ”
Hailing out of Houston, Texas, Huncho gives all the credit due to where he’s from. He talks about how in the city, driving around, there’s always music made by artists born and bred there coming out of the cars, and how it serves as motivation for him to keep going. “You got to understand, like, to be the top ten upcoming artists out of Houston, you're going to be the number one somewhere else. So whenever we can, we really wanna keep putting our foot on Houston.” He also cites it as a growth mentality city; “You got to keep some people around who came with you from nothing because they really see the process. They see the vision, they see how far it actually came.”
Aside from putting on for Houston, Huncho seeks authenticity in the music he makes. “If you're going to rap what you live, I see a lot of people go the worst route like that. And even if that ain't what's cool right now…Like you got to know what comes behind that shit. Like rap what you live, be yourself. You got to be different. I feel like everybody different, but not too many people want to be different.” Not only does he pride himself upon that idea, but encourages artists of all levels to do the same. “I feel like be yourself and embrace yourself and it's all going to make sense. It's a lane for everybody.”
Taking heed from his own advice, Huncho Bookie has clearly found his lane and will continue knocking down doors, back home and across the country, but he knows this is just the start. "I'm gonna be somebody they kids gon' hear about. Like this shit, this shit different. Like it means a lot more. Even if I want to stop rapping, that wouldn't happen...it's too many people depending on me, my Michael Jordan story just starting, and it ain't ending anytime soon."
Can you name a better year to live a Michael Jordan story than 2023? From starting off hot this year, addressing who the top dog breeder in Houston is, and dropping a song with NOLA darling Rob49 in just the month of January, Bookie has displayed how hellbent he is on making sure he becomes a household name.
TAP IN:
STREAM:
Comments