That Mexican OT & Z-Ro Are A “Crooked Officer” ⚾
Repping Texas from birth til death, That Mexican OT has long cited Houston legend Z-Ro as one of his favorite rappers of all time. In “Crooked Officer,” a highlight from OT’s mixtape Texas Technician, OT teams up with the Mo’ City Don himself, their snapping and melodic approaches blending perfectly above a slow-motion piano-led instrumental. In the video, directed by OT himself, alongside his longtime shooter DGreen Filmz, OT and Z-Ro team up to coach a ragtag group of baseball players–the Bay City Blackcats–and turn them into ballers of a different kind. The two rappers bring their slabs as their baseball team slugs, each rapper wearing custom Bay City baseball jerseys in the clip. The video is another Lone Star State special, following the recent video for “Bull Riding,” filmed at the Houston Rodeo and featuring Slim Thug and DRODi.
Texas Technician is a high-octane tribute to his home state’s bountiful rap scene. Refining the all-encompassing aesthetic that he developed for his breakout 2023 album Lonestar Luchador,Texas Technician hones in on a sound that has percolated in the Lone Star State for decades–slow moving, warped, haunting, speaker-knocking Texas rap. Along with A-listers from across the country, OT rolls out the purple carpet for fellow Texans, including Trill-era legends like Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Z-Ro, and Propain, and contemporaries like Trapboy Freddy, OTB Fastlane, and his Bay City running mates Drodi and Hogg Booma.
Texas Technician is home to the hit single “02.02.99,” a haunting horrorcore heatrock which became one of OT’s biggest hits. Released in early January, the song has generated over 35million streams across platforms. “02.02.99” peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks on the chart. “Twisting Fingers,” a collaboration with Moneybagg Yo, is another highlight, racking up over 5.4 million YouTube views and reaching the Top 5 of YouTube’s Trending Chart. Racking up millions of streams in its debut week, Texas Technician debuted at #64 on the Billboard 200, reached #5 on Apple Music’s all-genre album charts, and was the #5 Global debut on Spotify during its opening weekend. The album spent five total weeks on the Billboard 200.
Texas Technician continues OT’s formidable hot streak, which started last summer and made him one of the most exciting breakthrough rap stars of 2023. He started his legendary run with “Johnny Dang” ft. Drodi & Paul Wall, which spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, earned GOLD status from the RIAA, and appeared on Lonestar Luchador. Acclaimed by Pitchfork (7.5), last July’s Lonestar Luchador made an immediate impact, reaching #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and peaking at #59 on the Billboard 200. Last fall, That Mexican OT completed the “Lonestar Luchador Tour,” the Bay City native’s first-ever headlining tour, selling out dozens of dates across the country. The rapper earned “Best Of 2023” notices from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Complex, and Pitchfork. Recently, OT tore it up at Rolling Loud California 2024, performing his hits in front of thousands of fans, and sat down with Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging discussion that became the most-listened to podcast in the United States on Spotify on its day of release.
Profiled by the Los Angeles Times, SPIN Magazine, and his hometown Houston Chronicle, and featured on XXL’s The Break, That Mexican OT is outta here. Stay tuned for much more from the Bay City, TX rhymer as he launches into the stratosphere. Check out our previous coverage here.