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Following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers on May 25, the Houston Chronicle revealed that he was connected to the influential Screwed Up Click under the name Big Floyd. To reflect on his legacy, Rolling Stone recently spoke with leading figures in the Houston rap scene like Bun B, Trae tha Truth, and Paul Wall.
Although Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, he was raised in Houston’s Third Ward and had a brief rap career in the ‘90s.
UGK member Bun B explained the significance of Floyd’s affiliation with the Screwed Up Click. “It automatically ties him to a legendary legacy,” Bun B said. “By having that level of proximity to DJ Screw, you are automatically afforded a certain status in the city of Houston, and held in high regard.”
Paul Wall said that Floyd’s impact went beyond being a rapper. “[Big Floyd] would rap on tapes, but you would also hear other rappers say his name on tapes,” Wall remembered, before naming prominent members of the Screwed Up Click. “Big Pokey saying something about Big Floyd. Lil’ Keke saying something about Big Floyd. Mike D saying something about Big Floyd.”
Rolling Stone also spoke to rapper Cal Wayne, who was once Floyd’s next-door neighbor. Wayne praised Floyd for being one of the biggest supporters of his music career.
“This wasn’t my friend this was my big brother,” Wayne wrote on Instagram. “My true O.G. Big Floyd 💯👑 any song I made you hear who taught me.”
Floyd similarly supported both Trae the Truth’s music and his community outreach events. When Trae’s music was banned from radio after a shooting at one of those events, Floyd was one of the few artists and supporters who still stuck by him:
It will make 11 years this year. At a point, a lot of people left. They didn’t want to talk to me. They didn’t want to have no affiliation, because I was going through a tough time as far as being blackballed. He randomly on his own went to protesting himself and doing videos saying everything that Trae do for the community; y’all trying to stop him and it’s not right. He always spoke up for what’s right, even when young dudes in the neighborhood may be doing some stuff that ain’t cool. When there was a lot of killing going on throughout our city, he would always speak up, like, ‘This ain’t the way.’
One of the ways Bun B and Trae the Truth honored Floyd’s legacy was by organizing a Houston march protesting his death:
Tens of thousands of people participated in the march, which was just one of the countless protests that have broken out in many cities in the United States and other countries over the past week.
On June 3, Hennepin County attorney amended the charges against arresting officer Derek Chauvin to unintentional second-degree murder. The other three officers involved in the incident—who stood by while Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck—were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Read the full Rolling Stone interview here. Catch up on all the lyrics to Bun B, Paul Wall, and Trae tha Truth’s biggest hits on Genius now.
