Beyoncé - I Been On (Bun B, Z-Ro, Scarface, Willie D, Slim Thug & Lil Keke Remix)

Well, she asked for it. When Beyoncé released her double track, “Bow Down / I Been On,” the other week, the influence of her Houston roots was very apparent, but also pretty unexpected. Sure, that’s her hometown and we’ve seen a surge in popularity of the city’s native chopped and screwed sound over the past few years, but we’ve never heard Beyoncé like that before. With her pitched-down vocals, lyrics like, “Rolling high, leather and wood, keep it trill, that’s what good,” and references to UGK, Pimp C and Willie D on the latter part of the cut, “I Been On” is a clear homage to the H-Town sound and culture, and was begging to be touched by some of its greats. That’s exactly what happened, as reported last week, when Bun B, Z-Ro, Scarface, Willie D, Slim Thug and Lil Keke got in the studio to add some verses to it. Now, we have the version they laid down. What do you think? Did these Texan rap pioneers bring a needed element to the track, or was it better without them? What’s your opinion of Mrs. Carter’s incorporation of the sound she grew up on into her music?