Killa Kyleon

Emerging from Houston's underground scene in the early 2000s, Killa Kyleon earned recognition as one of Southern rap's most underappreciated figures. Over time he developed into a major presence through his work as a prolific solo artist and extended tenure with Slim Thug's Boss Hogg Outlawz, while continuing to attract frequent guest requests. Born Kyle Jeroderrick Riley, he ranked among the area's most skilled MCs within just a few years, a fact evident on his initial mixtapes such as 2004's Having Thangs alongside Slim Thug and 2007's Purple Punch. When Boss Hogg Outlawz issued the third installment of their Serve & Collect series in 2011, Kyleon had already departed the collective, yet he maintained a consistent schedule of mixtape releases and featured appearances. Among the most prominent of these projects in the ensuing years were the 2012 Mouse collaboration Welcome to the Fish Fry and the C-Fyre collaboration H-Town Heroes. In 2017 alone his releases encompassed the EP-length Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Nessacary, Lorraine Motel, and Havin Thangs 2K17, a fresh version of his earlier Having Thangs. The next year he delivered an unnumbered entry in the Candy Paint N Texas Plates series, which featured contributions on "Money All the Time" from Houston giants Scarface, Willie D, Devin the Dude, and Z-Ro, underscoring Kyleon's hard-won stature.