Bun B: "I Will Be Mourning For a Long Time"

Houston rapper Bun B (born Bernard Freeman) had a rather tumultuous 2007. He saw the latest album by his group UGK debut at the top of the Billboard albums chart only to have his longtime partner Pimp C pass away later in the year. But Bun continues undeterred, as this week saw the release of his second solo album, the excellent II Trill, and he is currently enjoying the spoils of a hit single, "That's Gangsta." Bun called in from the road on his way back to Houston to host a listening party at the Louis Vuitton boutique. "They just overhauled the men's department, so I'm excited to help them kick things off," says Bun.

What's the reaction so far to II Trill?
People have been really, really receptive of it. I don't know if it's because they're talking to me, but everybody has been saying that they really like the album.

Was this record done after Pimp C's death?
No. Seventy-five percent of this album was recorded prior to Pimp's passing.

Did his death change the way that you were working? Did your approach to the songs become different?
No, just the approach to the movement, the intensity as far as really knowing that there was no more time to play. We definitely have to assert ourselves in this game stronger than we ever have before and there are no limits to what we can do now.

The past few years for have been big for the Houston scene. Do you think it's that much different than it was two or three years ago?
It's pretty much the same. We used to work very hard to make songs that were very easily identified with Houston. Now that everybody knows what Houston is and how we get down, we can make something a little more national without losing our Texas identity.

The guests on this album are eclectic — Sean Kingston, Lupe Fiasco, Mya, 8Ball & MJG. When you go into a collaboration, what's the goal? What do you try to get out of it?
I definitely try to make sure that they go in their direction and I go in my direction and we meet at a common point. It's always about bouncing ideas off of people. If you don't want other people's input then why are you doing what you're doing? I definitely think people respect me as an artist. They know what I'm capable of and vice versa. It's just a friendly game of baseball.

With the rise of the online mixtape market, have you reconsidered the way you do business?
You just gotta make sure to make yourself and your music and your property available to everybody. It's just a matter of making sure that your music is available online, but also that your merchandising is available online as well. Keep making the product available to the people.