Bun B on Hip Hop and politics: "The problem isn’t artists speaking their minds — it’s about which artists are speaking it"

Bun B has long been a trailblazer in both Hip Hop and Houston culture, but his influence extends far beyond music. Over the past few years, he has become an integral part of the Houston Rodeo, particularly with the introduction of Black Heritage Night, a pivotal event that celebrates Black excellence in country, Hip Hop and beyond. Earlier this month, REVOLT was invited by Crown Royal to attend Black Heritage Night at the rodeo, where Bun B not only honored this historic event but also celebrated his own birthday in grand fashion.

The weekend kicked off with an intimate dinner before leading into a star-studded concert featuring performances from Coco Jones, Jagged Edge, Yolanda Adams, T.I. and more. Amid the celebrations, we had the chance to sit down with Bun B to discuss Beyoncé’s groundbreaking Cowboy Carter win, the challenges of navigating different cultural spaces while maintaining respect and whether Hip Hop and politics are destined to collide in today’s world.

Your decision to include gospel legend Yolanda Adams in your Birthday Bonanza lineup was groundbreaking. What inspired you to bring gospel music to the Houston Rodeo stage, and how do you envision this fusion resonating with the audience?

Well, first of all, Yolanda Adams is a Houston icon. She's a legend, and she's a person who has put forth the effort that deserves a spot at a venue like that on a night like this. I'm a Christian. I'm born and raised a Christian. I don't see any reason why we can't have a good time celebrating secular music and Christian music in the same place. I know it can happen because I see it at every barbecue, every cookout, every family reunion. I see it all the time. It's really about how it happens. At the rodeo, I try to create as well-rounded an experience as possible, but very often someone gets left out due to the tone, the theme or what have you. Typically, it's the grandparents, but it's also the grandkids.

So, by going and getting Yolanda Adams, I already know what she represents -- as does everyone else. I can understand some people thinking, “Oh, well, we're gonna be dancing and cursing in the music.” First of all, we don't really do a lot of cursing on stage. We do all the clean versions on stage. I just don't understand why people feel like they can't be themselves. God already knows who you are. So, if you understand that, I don't see why there's anything to hide. I'm not gonna have, like, twerking on this song and then the very next song is praise (laughs). Everything is meant to go a certain way, but the way we're announcing artists isn’t representative of how the order and everything's gonna go on stage. We’ve already thought about this stuff before we brought in certain people. So, it's going to be very natural. When you see it in the building, it's going to all make sense.

What's something that has been deemed unorthodox in the music industry that you want to change or debunk?

There are people who identify as Christians who still have secular music that they like and listen to, but they tend to keep it to themselves, so they don't look a certain way amongst their people. The same thing happens for Hip Hop. There are many Hip Hop people who identify as Christians, but they don't really listen to a lot of Christian music around their Hip Hop friends because they don't want to be identified in that way. The reality is that everyone has some level of duality. For Black people, a lot of that is secular and religion. How do we live in praise of the Lord, in the house of the Lord and outside of that. That’s a dichotomy that everyone has to deal with in their own kind of way.

The rodeo allows us a place for us to do this without feeling weird about it. That's what I want to do. I don't want anyone who loves R&B, Hip Hop and gospel music to feel like they have to be in one outfit for one and another outfit in another place for another one and so forth and so on. No, we bring people together at the rodeo. You cannot come in with prejudices. You cannot come in looking at people as stereotypes because you're not going to have fun. If you're white and you don't like Black people, then don’t come to the rodeo — because they're going to be there. Or if you're Black and don't like white people, don't come to the rodeo because they're going to be having a good time. If you don't like the way these people identify, don't come. They're gonna have a great time.

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter wins have brought attention to Black artists in country music. In a previous conversation, you highlighted the Knowles family's efforts to shed light on Black cowboy history. How do you see your role in continuing this narrative, especially within the context of the Houston Rodeo and the broader cultural landscape?

I've been watching this — this re-engagement of the identity of the Black cowhand known as the cowboy in history. It was first brought to my mind full circle by Solange. Solange was one of the first people to really embrace that theme and try to educate people about the story.

Obviously, Beyoncé piggybacked on that extremely well by bringing in other country artists. For me, it's about being able to make sure that my night represents the Black culture as much as possible. It's very important for me that people understand that this is deeper than just the music that we're doing on stage. It's about our voices and our bodies being free-flowing, seen and heard in this space, which has for many years not been the norm.

For me, it's about making sure that not only I as a Black performer gets on that stage, but if I can put as many other Black people on that stage as possible, I'm gonna do it. I'm going to give them an opportunity. If we had been selfish and done this for ourselves, we might have gotten that first year, but we would have never been brought back. The fact that we keep reinvigorating the lineup, keep switching up the themes, keep bringing in different presentations, we could do this forever, quite frankly. It also always gives someone new an opportunity to get on that stage and shine and that's really the core of what we do now.

You’ve built relationships across so many worlds — Hip Hop, academia, the culinary industry and now the rodeo. How do you navigate these different spaces so seamlessly, making sure you’re understood and respected without losing your authenticity in the process?

I wish it was as seamless as it looks, but it takes a lot of hard work. I have to understand the rooms I'm walking into, the people that I will probably meet in that room, the reactions that some will have as opposed to others. I have to be prepared for “no’s” in a lot of these spaces. That doesn't require us quitting when we hear, “No” -- we just have to find a different way to get to where we're going. We understand that as difficult as some things may seem for us, we envision what the path is like for others before us, knowing how much harder, how much trepidation it would have been for them.

We’re walking on eggshells; they’re on landmines. So, we take that into consideration and because we will only be accepted in rooms that allow us to be our genuine, authentic selves, which is why people don't see me being unauthentic in any space. I don't occupy the space if I can't be who I am. Who I am is necessary in every space that I go into. I don't feel like I should compromise anything about me culturally, anything about me personally, professionally, religiously or any of that stuff. I am comfortable being me. If they're not comfortable with me being me, then that's on them. Yeah, it's not on me. That's really on you. I don't see any room that I'm not qualified to walk in. I don't see any room that... I need to be in that I [feel I] shouldn't be in. I'm as necessary as I believe I am to everybody that I deal with.

Is there something that you see in the world that hasn’t been done yet that you want to be the first to do — or be one of the first to do and do it well?

Well, that's an excellent question. I think part of that already exists. We put a lot of different people that don't ideologically identify with each other in a shared space three years in a row, by the tens of thousands. I learned this because I live in Texas and we love football. We share spaces with people that do not ideologically align with us on any level. If you're in NRG Texas Stadium and Texas scores a touchdown, you're gonna high five the person next to you. I go to gas stations all the time in Texas, and I see dudes with the four flags and the black flag on the window and all of that. In common courtesy, people still hold the door open for each other. I see people that come into my restaurant that I know don't vote like I vote. They don't think like I think, they don't have the priorities that I do, but they don't come into my restaurant with it. They don't bring their politics in, so I don't insert mine.

I believe my company is a great place for people with different minds to come in [and] have a common ground to start on. We can start there on things that we agree on and kind of expand from there. That’s important to me as a person and to Trill Burgers as a company, that we give people the opportunity to be themselves and to either get along or agree to disagree. That's why this partnership with Crown Royal is so perfect, because they believe in the same thing that we believe in. We believe in community. We believe in people. I'm a very charitable person. Crown Royal is charitable.

Hip Hop artists often face significant scrutiny when they engage in political events, especially when their actions don't align with public expectations. Artists like Nelly and Snoop Dogg performed at President Donald Trump's inauguration events, leading to considerable backlash from fans and fellow artists. Given this climate, do you believe Hip Hop and politics can coexist? If so, how can artists navigate political involvement without facing overwhelming criticism?

I think the two can engage — we both answer to the people, and we're both held accountable when we misrepresent ourselves to the people... because of that and the fact that most of us say that we represent the marginalized people in this country, for the most part, politicians as well as Hip Hop artists. If we could start there, which is common ground and make sure that we're both doing what we say we want to do, then we can grow from there. If either of us are inauthentic in our approach and our execution, then it makes all of us look bad.

So, the problem isn't artists speaking their minds — it's about which artists are speaking it. Do they have the reference? Have they had the track record to really talk about the things they're talking about? Or should we just let people have their opinions, speak their minds and then go on about our business? I think because of the fact that Snoop was so vocal about his opposition to Trump, to see him affiliated... that was why he got so much pushback on it. I think obviously people from our community have a shared vision of who Trump is and how we should combat that. My mom always tells me, “You have to give people enough room to be wrong.” You have to just give people enough room to be wrong, and that's it. I don't have time to sit and debate you and try to prove that I'm right and you're wrong. Things will be told with time, so I let these things play out.