Casually firing off heartbreaking allusions to the inevitable atrocities of street life that he navigated up to age 25, BigXthaPlug's latest proves he's Texas' finest, Casey Taylor writes.

Steven Louis serves the newest edition of The Rap Up – with posthumous joints from the late Young Slo-Be and Big Scarr, a BabyStoneGorillas Christmas banger, a Rookie of the Year coronation for BigXthaPlug, a Quelle Chris & Cavalier collab and an up north trip to Montreal from Loe Pesci.

Eric Diep speaks to the Texas rapper about entering contests for his music, how he balances the rap life while being a father, the state of hip-hop in Texas and more.