Lil' Keke

Rapper Lil’ Keke is an enduring figure in Houston’s legendary Screwed Up Click. For nearly 25 years, he’s “pimped the pen” with his inventive phrases and freestyle flow. • At 15 years old, Lil’ Keke sharpened his freestyle skills while rapping to tapes as he rode around Houston’s southside in his 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. • In the early 1990s, a teenaged Lil’ Keke was introduced to Houston icon DJ Screw—the mastermind behind the “chopped and screwed” sound—by their mutual barber. Screw began recording Keke alongside Fat Pat and other members of the Screwed Up Click. • In 1996, Lil Keke rapped “Pimp tha Pen,” the iconic single from DJ Screw’s 3 ‘N the Mornin’: Part Two album. Drake and A$AP Rocky have subsequently sampled the song. • After signing with Screwed Up Click’s crosstown rivals, Swishahouse, Lil’ Keke guested on label mate Paul Wall’s 2007 hit “Break ‘Em Off.” • He cracked the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart with his 12th studio effort, 2008’s Loved by Few, Hated by Many. • Lil’ Keke is no stranger to giving back, and in 2016, he received the Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama.