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Hip-hop has been with us for forever, in pop cultural time. The real veterans are pushing 50, yet the new release rack is filled with rappers who have "Young," "Lil," "Baby" or "Boy" in their names. That's not intended to knock every MC with a diminutive in his or her moniker—Lord knows Lil Wayne and Lil Mama have been killing it this year. But hip-hop definitely has a thing for youth and restlessness these days. Even in the world of pop music, major-label rap music and videos stand out for the Neverland they portray.

It would take a book-length endeavor to unravel the morass of issues at the root of it all, but one thing is for sure: in the current climate of sameness, some of the most moving albums are the ones that subtly tweak the old formulas to say something new. And that's just what Southern hip-hop legends UGK have done on their sixth album, Underground Kingz. With the record's release last month, the Texan duo topped the charts for the first time in their long career, beating out Plies' debut for the number one spot.

Bun B and Pimp C started rapping together in the late '80s, when they were peddling pretty much the same flavor of hard-boiled, country-fried tales of pimping, pushing drugs and living large that you'll hear on Underground Kingz. What sets the album apart, however, is its self-awareness. While they still revel in glories past and present, UGK are unafraid to expose the anguish involved in the ruthless hustle that's brought them to the top. Sure, they're still rapping about candy-paint cars and chasing tail, but there's a telling whiff of fatigue in their dogged refusal to change anything. "Gotta play the hand that you're dealt," raps Bun on "Gravy," "that's until it's yo' turn to deal."

A weary cynicism troubles even the most glamorous songs. On the Scarface refix "Still Ridin' Dirty," Bun cautions: "You live by the gun, you'll die by the slugs, man / You live off of fiends, you'll die behind drugs, man." It's a harsh message that spurns glorification of the game. On the solemn "Living This Life," Bun reflects on the striving that never seems to stop: "A dollar out of 15 cents? I got a dime / I'm trying to hustle my way up to a million / I gotta grind / Walk in a line like Cash / I'm on my mash / 200 yards behind in a 100 yard dash."

For those who haven't tracked the group's long (and rocky) career, the place they've reached on their latest album might not look a whole lot different from where they started out. But the key to Underground Kingz's success is UGK's newfound nuance—the numerous moments where they own up to feeling equal parts triumph and exhaustion. In doing so, they let slip a rich ambivalence that's best captured by the magnificent single, "International Players Anthem."

In the video, UGK are a pair of feather-adorned pimps grumbling warnings in the front pew as a smitten Andre 3000 rushes to altar. The tension between their verses crackles over a classic Willie Hutch sample. And yet for all the apparent contradiction between committing to and controlling women, what the song captures is an evocative moment: a pair of wistful veterans, on the verge of something. Wise to the game, but still wiley, UGK have deftly shuffled the conventions of the Southern gangster genre that they helped build from the ground up.

—Toby Warner
09.07.07