Sauce Walka represents everything hip-hop has grown to love about Texas: the sticky slang, Southern charisma and splashy swag. While the Houston rapper’s glittering diamond grills and kinetic personality make him hard to miss, it’s his convincing rhymes that capture most of the attention. There’s no doubt what Sauce is spitting is the truth. That carries over into his business savvy with a keen eye for making something out of nothing, which is why he’s had success as an independent artist throughout his career. That entrepreneurial spirit shines through in the bars Sauce delivers in the XXL Cypher Lab, presented by the must-see boxing event: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, live on Netflix on Friday, November 15.
The Saucinator, a nickname fellow rappers Ferg and Ab-Soul gave him during their cypher linkup, has been kicking rhymes since he was 3 years old. He recorded his first mixtape in 1996. By 14, the Down South spitter stopped writing verses and let the lyrics flow out of his mouth straight to the mic. Sauce Walka’s ability to captivate an audience with his words became second nature. Coming up in the south side of Houston, freestyling was what he calls the “ABCs, Hooked on Phonics” for the Houston culture of rapping. It was already in him as a student of local hip-hop legends DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click.
The 34-year-old rapper has more than 20 projects under his belt, which feature the drip hop that has become synonymous with his name. According to him, he created the “sauce, the drip, the splash” in hip-hop. The Sauce Factory, the independent record label he started, has provided him with the foundation to build an empire with his own music as well as sign a slew of artists. “Ghetto Gospel,” “Made By Rich God” and “Dangerous Daringer” with Conway The Machine, in addition to his most recent release, Saucefather 2, illustrate the insight and introspection from the view of a former street hustler-turned-businessman—all in his distinct drawl. His XXL Cypher Lab verse finds him doing much of the same as he articulates what he’s seen on both sides.
“It is just more or less me preaching the ghetto gospel, man,” Sauce Walka tells XXL. “It is a message and it is a responsibility that I hold to give a certain level of insight and a certain level of information to help the cognitive change that’s going on in the world… It’s up to you as the artist to rap about a bunch of nothing or rap about something. I just be rapping about something. I have substance… I got something to say. From Texas, we got something to say.”
The more Sauce Walka speaks, the more knowledge he drops. He’s a say-it-with-your-chest scholar who’s earned a degree in street economics. The respected MC inspires those watching his moves to create a legacy that leads to fortune through hard work and talent. He believes that combination can go further than relying on both relationships and favor. As a serial entrepreneur, Sauce is preparing to drop more projects before 2024 comes to a close. He’s trying to “keep it real spicy.”
“I got a few new albums releasing by the end of the year,” he says. “I also have compilations dropping with a lot of my artists this year. I just plan to be a better CEO, diversify my portfolio and business. I got a lot of other business ventures that I’m working on right now outside of hip-hop and just dripping and splashing in high fashion, man, you know what I’m saying? I have a lot of different products that I’m going to sell this next year and I just keep raising the bar in my lyrics, you know what I’m saying? I got TV shows on the way, commercial real estate, studios. I do so much. I’m a serial entrepreneur. So just expect more entrepreneurship from Sauce Walka.”
Oooweee to that.
Check out Sauce Walka’s verse in the XXL Cypher Lab and his interview, presented by the must-see boxing event: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, live on Netflix on Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
