Show Louis

"Show is an undeniable talent, a gifted orator who combines an overwhelming intimidation factor with just enough likability." - Shea Serrano - Houston Press

Show however may be the last of his era, a man consistent enough to bring both old school rhetoric and energy to his live shows while balancing the idea of lyricism and passionate reality on wax." - Brandon Caldwell - DayandaDream.com

"He knows his sins but raps with such a drowsy inflection that those sins weigh on him at every waking moment. He pulls on cigarettes, offers zero regrets and does the sort of things that make Freddie Gibbs a fan favorite." - Houston Press

"The most immediately appealing quality of his rap persona is that he's somehow able to bend his own hellaciousness into a distinct likeability" - Shea Serrano - Houston Press

"Holy Christ. Show, all 5'7" of him, is a tornado on stage. Were he in the competition, he would've just won it." - Shea Serrano - Houston Press

"Show is an undeniable talent, a gifted orator who combines an overwhelming intimidation factor with just enough likability." - Shea Serrano - Houston Press

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By Brandon Caldwell
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
#NewHoustonRap: Show Louis's Scars Show On 'Love & Drugz'

This is about Show Louis.

Five years ago, Show Louis went by Rock Show. I met him at a mixer for another artist at SF2’s now-defunct Southwest location. His eyes were low and he happened to wear a fitted hat, but he couldn’t help but mingle with plenty of rappers he was actually better than. Even if they didn’t give him props in public, they mentioned it behind the scenes. That’s the first thing to remember about Show Louis — public admiration and acknowledgement of his talents is hard to come by.

Five years ago, Show Louis released R.N.C, a very populated and at times bloated Houston rap tape that explored plenty of his personality and firmly placed him near the top of Houston rappers who bled authenticity over anything else. MUG of the Stomp Down Soldiers appeared on the tape as well on “Rush," a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it oasis of gangsta rap that didn’t feel like it was made for the big screen. It was gritty, it was honest. Rob Gullatte was still going by Kritkal at the time, and appeared on “Rush." Yung Quis of ABN, who has pretty much always gone by Yung Quis, also appeared. It was on R.N.C and the subsequent Loud Howard that Show became one of the city's best and beautifully scarred gangsta rappers. Depending on who you ask, Show ranks right there with Bleeda, his long confidant Gullatte and J-Dawg in terms of captivating audiences with autobiographical raps.
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A few years ago, Show Louis was in mourning, sour even. The mother of his young daughter had recently died. For reasons never completely made public, he’d spent almost much of an entire year behind bars before he was once more back on the streets. As often as he could have vented and turned towards the darkness, Show Louis always stuck to rapping and making blunt, almost paradoxical observations about life in general. Show Louis can say he’s been fucked with by the universe on multiple occasions. He still wants to find a black mask and a metaphorical gun to rob the universe without any emotional ties to it.

Last year, Show and Gullatte teamed for Sophisticated Savages, an angry, outspoken rap tape that still stood with plenty of vigor when the dust for year-end awards settled. Then Show released Love & Drugz last Friday. Much like R.N.C., a few things have remained the same. Show is still losing people, either to the penitentiary or to the grave, and they all get their flowers within the tape's first 15 seconds.

MUG reappears. He’s here on “Magenta," a Pugtunes track that sounds like nothing but 200 people elbowing you in the back of your head over disrespect. MUG’s voice speaks from the grave, a hint of space and reverb that pushes him just above the entire track like he’s levitating. “If I get caught, I can’t say it was all for nothing,” he says about doing dirt and wanting to be involved in 96 percent of the deals at all times.

The quirkiest thing about “Magenta” is that Show Louis plays on a “center” metaphor by referencing Wilt Chamberlin and Lew Alcindor. The two of them? Arguably the most dominant for their time. And somehow all Show wants to do after all of that is play “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. He’s a different type of maniac, I swear.

Trae Tha Truth appears on “Outlaw,” which kicks off like it was a bonus cut from the Tombstone soundtrack. “All my life I’ve been a problem,” Show admits, almost coping with the title and outlook of life because survival is all he knows survival. Trae, about as scarred as any solider for the truth can be, doubles down on the sentiment by listing off a multitude of reasons to act accordingly before Jesus comes.

What’s a life lesson from Show on Love & Drugz? “I’m so gone I can't even feel no pain/ Don’t ever wanna come back down." That’s from “Back In Them Dayz."

DeLorean appears on the tape’s closer, “The Code,” with sprinkling keys and Show looking back at the time he was shot by a man fueled by cocaine, but sticking to the things that make him smile: his daughter and a check. Also, he’s weary of what he even tells his friends, even rap beef. “I had some issues with a rap nigga/ I ain’t never tell my potnas cause they clap niggas/ When there’s a problem…” DeLorean’s offers the last sentence on Love & Drugz — “I’m Steph Curry with the last shot, Cash out, every B hit me got a stash spot…”

Love & Drugz is the year’s first hard-boiled rap tape, another honest moment from Show where he could easily relapse into doing dumb shit but refrains not to. Remember how Jay Z rapped it was a full-time job not to kill people on “Streets Is Watching”? Same applies for Show. He’s just working for other things now. - Houston Press

The opening sounds of Show Louis’ second tape of 2017 features Evelyn “Champagne” King. If you have hummed “I Think My Heart Is Telling,” then you’ve probably harkened back to the days when FUBU had a record label and 54th Platoon from New Orleans was the lead group. Their biggest “hit” so to speak sampled King, a record that flipped all of King’s vocal inflections into moans and reactions of player deeds and presence. PugTunes, Show’s production consigliere and probably the most impactful producer from Houston in 2017, scored it.
Show and Puggy Two Times cooked up heat on May’s Money Didn’t Make Anybody. The meal becomes a leaner dish on Country Trap Tunez 2. An able-bodied sequel where the guests range from familiar (Doughbeezy, Delorean, Bigg Fatts), beloved if not vastly underrated (Bleeda) and outspoken. From “Faith” onward, Show Louis kicks raps in that grizzled, day in the life type of flow that made him a rapper’s favorite rapper and a street boy’s go-to bluesman. “Free Promotion” could be seen as the remix to Delorean’s “Take Me Back (Intro)” from Take Me Back as Show and Doughbeezy match the energy of haters actually doing more lip wrassling than Lavar Ball.
“N*ggas finna die gimmicks for that famous five minutes,” Show raps on “Can U Feel Me,” as a warning to those wanting to do whatever for cameras. Bleeda’s been down as long as McDonald’s has been without a working ice cream machine. Both of them together exercise the same pain and thought processes though. If you’ve seen dirt and done dirt, there’s no value in expressing said dirt for attention. Seeking attention is for suckers. Having attention come to you for good is the best currency on this Earth.
PugTunes went three for three in scoring monster projects in 2017 from Delorean, Bigg Fatts and now Show. Time to crown him and Mr. Loud Howard by purchasing Country Trap Tunez 2 on Bandcamp or iTunes and streaming it below. -