Based out of the northern part of Houston, the MC fell in with Swishahouse's Michael Watts and established a following in no time. This strategy had a lot to do with his business instincts: mixtapes released on his own Boss Hogg Outlawz label circulated throughout the region. (He also acquired a couple record stores and became involved with real estate.) Already Platinum, distributed by Geffen, sustained several release-date delays before its July 2005 street date, and featured production work from the Neptunes and Jazze Pha. The Boss of All Bosses followed in 2009, with Tha Thug Show arriving one year later.

In 2012, he kicked off his Thug Thursday mixtape series (the sequel dropped in 2014, with a third part of the trilogy arriving in 2016). He also released the Welcome to Texas series: 2013's installment featured Rick Ross, Pimp C, and Ludacris. That same year, Thug issued a joint album with Lil' Keke titled The Big Unit, as well as his fourth LP, Boss Life, which featured Big K.R.I.T., Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Bun B, Yo Gotti, and Kevin Gates.

2015 would be another busy year for Thug. Launching his Hogg Life series, he unveiled the first part, The Beginning, that February. Still Surviving followed that summer, with Hustler of the Year arriving in October. A year later, Volume 4, American King, debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard rap chart. ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung