Lil Keke
Herschelwood rapper Marcus Edwards, an original Screwed Up Click member whose DJ Screw tape freestyles led to his 1997 debut “Don’t Mess wit Texas” and the hit “Southside.”
Herschelwood and Screw tapes
Marcus Lakee Edwards was born on March 29, 1976, in Anahuac, Texas, and came up in Houston's Herschelwood neighborhood on the South Side. As Lil' Keke he became an original member of DJ Screw's Screwed Up Click, treating his freestyles on Screw's tapes as seriously as album cuts. Between the mid-1990s and 2000 he was one of the most prominent voices on those tapes, with pieces such as “Pimp tha Pen” circulating widely. Fat Pat, Big Hawk, Big Moe and E.S.G. were among his fellow original members.
Don't Mess wit Texas
His debut album “Don't Mess wit Texas” was released in June 1997 on the Houston independent Jam Down Records. Its single “Southside” brought him national attention; Keke later explained that the song grew out of a freestyle answering someone who had disparaged the South Side. The debut was followed by “The Commission” in 1998.
Swishahouse and later albums
“Platinum in da Ghetto” (2001) extended his run as an independent mainstay, and in 2005 he signed with Swishahouse Records, the North Side label known for its own mixtape tradition. “Loved by Few, Hated by Many” arrived in 2008. He has continued to release albums steadily, including “Lgnd” (2022) and “Can't Rain Forever” (2024), with recent projects issued through independent outlets such as SoSouth.
Standing in Houston
Peers and label executives regard Keke as one of the architects of Houston rap's freestyle-driven style, and his catalog now spans some twenty studio albums released over nearly three decades. In 2016 he received an award from President Barack Obama recognizing his community service work in Houston.
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