Whether the soul-drenched styles of Memphis pioneers Eightball and MJG, futuristic funk of Atlanta tag team Outkast or pimp-tight testimonials of Texas legends UGK, rap group duos have for a long time shaped the sound of southern rap music.

Keeping true to that same southern two-man tradition and well on their way to bringing back that long-gone rhyming dynamic is emerging Texas super group K9. Handpicked by three-time NBA All-Star Steve Francis as a part of his newly formed label Mazerati Music, LLC, lyrical game spitters Tojo and Kutt Deezul have already created a buzz across south Texas with their mixtape debut Street Shit Vol. 1.

And they will officially change the game with their follow-up mixtape Street Shit Vol. 2 and three simmering singles “Down to the Floor,” “Dope Game” and “Country Ass Niggas.” Their as-yet-untitled debut album is due in coming weeks.

“Our music has a country, southern feel to it,” explains Kut. “We like to take our time and talk about real situations in our music. We take time to craft our songs. We make real music, nothing made up.”

Formed as a group only two short years ago, Kut and Tojo represent two separate south Texas cities about 30 minutes from Houston. And they are as alike as night and day.

Kut (Thomas Groagen, 25) is from Needville. Rapping since age 13, he always knew music was his calling. For as long as he could remember, Kut has a love for the power of language. His favorite subjects in school were literature and English. So when he was introduced to hip hop, he knew that music would be his calling. He made a name for himself performing in shows and dropping volumes of his own mixtapes.

“I like to be smart with my music,” Kut clarifies. “All of that street stuff is cool but I like living the good life. I stay away from the street stuff so much because I want everybody to listen to my music, not just the streets.”

Tojo (Larry Evans, 23), on the other hand, is from Kendelton. Best known throughout high school for being an all-around athlete, he excelled in basketball and football at East Bernard High School and even was offered a full scholarship to college.

All of that changed, however, when he caught a charge for selling pills in school during his senior year. He was kicked me out of school as lost all my eligibility to play.

“We fall short of the glory. I had another gift so I ran with this one,” Tojo explains. “Music was always a passion. I was always kind of clever with words so I just put two and two together.”
Because their twin cities are only about a mile apart, they already knew each other but officially came together as a group when their tapes fell in the lab of former basketball superstar Steve Francis on Easter Sunday 2009.

Steve called them both on the phone, invited them to the studio to record some music and signed them as the first artists to his upstart label Mazerati Music, LLC.

“We could be both be solo rappers,” admits Kut. “But together, we are twice as deadly. That way, we will hit them even harder.”

Their first release as a group was on Mazerati Nation 1 compilation released earlier this year. And they kept their fan base fed with their mixtape debut Street Shit Vol. 1.

And they will officially change the game with their follow-up mixtape Street Shit Vol. 2 and three simmering singles “Down to the Floor,” “Dope Game” and “Country Ass Niggas.” Their as-yet-untitled debut album is due in coming weeks.

“Because we are so different, our group got a diverse style,” says Kut. “We got something for the streets and the suburbs. We got fun music and some serious music. Our music is well balanced. We got something that everybody can relate to.”