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Source: General / Radio One

For Cartel Bo, life after five years in prison feels overwhelming, fast, and full of possibility. He was prepared for it, though. While the Houston rapper was locked up in a federal penitentiary on a firearms charge, he had “visions and premonitions of what I’m doing today.”

Since his release in early 2024, he’s been making good on his early creative promise, ascending to a place as one of Texas’ greatest rap talents and working in an uncompromising style. His recent songs showcase him ascending to a new artistic plane, particularly the millions-streaming “Fresh Out tha Fedz,” a cinema-scale freestyle that stands as the most dazzling “first day out” track in recent memory, as well as victory-lap anthems like “No Pass” and “Go (The Pope).”

Born Warren Tramelle Brown II, Cartel first made a name for himself in H-Town in the late 2010s. Cartel’s early YouTube drops, song-stealing features, and hard-nosed mixtapes captured a voice that felt fully formed and

defiant. In the year’s since, Cartel’s vision has become bigger than rap—bigger than music. This seems like something many great artists might aspire to, but Cartel is confident that he has a unique way of doing it—his own lane that he is continuing to carve out. “I gotta look at things different,” he explains. “I’m trying to build something that ain’t been built before. I’m trying to get to a level that ain’t been reached before.”

He caught up with G-Man and DJ J-Que to talk about new music, collabs and his upcoming spot on the For The H ’24: Sexyy Red for President Tour coming to Houston on December 6. The show, which takes place at H-Town’s Toyota Center, also features NLE Choppa, Skilla Baby, Erica Banks, KenTheMan, Skyrah Bliss and Lah Pat, who scored a major hit recently with the song “Rodeo.”

Check it out Cartel’s interview below.