Houston’s Cartel Bo Serves Stacked “PABLO” EP
Houston rap heavyweight Cartel Bo unleashes his highly anticipated PABLO EP, out now via Warner Records and Maxo Kream’s Big Persona. The filler-free, nine-song project is the next stop in the rising star’s evolution, showcasing his ruthless wit, sagely street wisdom, and charismatic intensity alongside appearances from the likes of That Mexican OT, crashout king Baby Kia, and fellow H-Town legend Slim Thug.
Riding high on blaring horns, booming 808s, and snaking synths, Cartel Bo lets the bars fly on “Craig and DooDoo”: “Snap my fingers, I get to moving things / Don’t tip me like gratuity, metal in my hands like the Wolverine.”
South Carolinian Trap Dickey gets his licks in, too: “The skreets need me to pop it, waiting on me to drop it / Gold chains on like I’m Mr. T, I’m the one that beat ol’ Rocky.” Directed by Cartel Bo and shot outside an iconic Houston chicken shop, the video captures the song’s rowdy energy with custom cars and a crowd that includes Maxo Kream.
The EP’s official release is hardly fans’ first taste of PABLO. January brought “Tha Kitchen,” a gleefully scorching team-up with Bay City, Texas, rapper That Mexican OT that’s caught some serious momentum, reeling in nearly 2 million global streams to date. Cartel Bo dropped an early performance video for “Lion King,” a flex-fest that put his humor on display with lines like, “She grab something out my pocket to go shoppin, it ain’t hurt / When it’s time to hit the Louis store I’m right back in her purse.” And over the past two weeks, he shared two sides of himself with “Go Get Em” featuring ATL’s Baby Kia and the romantic “Get U 2 Leave.”
PABLO follows hot on the heels of Cartel Bo’s October EP, CHAPO, which has garnered over 3.1M streams, not to mention critical praise with standout tracks like “The Pope,” “Make Em Pay You,” and “You Not Rich” featuring Maxo Kream. To date Cartel Bo has been covered by the likes of XXL, The FADER, BET, Stereogum, HipHopDX and more.
Truly, CHAPO was more than just an EP. It was a grand return and a moment of redemption and reflection following a five-year bid. From the viral explosion of “Hoova” to the jubilant “Fresh Out Tha Fedz,” the rapper was honing his craft all the while, gaining a loyal fanbase across Houston and beyond. But as Cartel Bo likes to say, “Everyone has heard about Pablo, but not many have met him.”
With PABLO, we fully see Cartel Bo as he reaffirms his place in the game.
