Dat Boi T

Tony Martinez, widely recognized by his stage name Dat Boi T, works out of Houston as a rapper tied to the storied Screwed Up Click. Shaped in particular by UGK alongside DJ Screw, the collective’s founder, his sound tends toward a measured, unhurried vibe steeped in funk and R&B, even as the lyrics turn more confrontational on themes of urban existence and pleasure-seeking. Although he became the first Hispanic artist linked to S.U.C., Martinez pushes back against any narrow categorization as a Latin rapper, aligning instead with the broader currents of Southern rap rather than most Latin hip-hop. From the 2009 release Life in da Slow Lane onward, he issued albums and mixtapes in rapid succession, ultimately delivering more than a dozen full-length projects through SoSouth, Thizz Latin, and Steak ’N’ Shrimp; among them are multiple installments in both the What’s Really Good and Thoed Essays series plus several chopped-and-screwed editions. Releases had already begun appearing on Slow Lane Records with the 2004 EP Seven Years Later, and that trajectory continued with the 2016 full-length Slow Summer before Slow Lane arrived the following year.