Beat the Rap

Paul Wall, 36, shines bright with his gold grill and a candy-red slab with protruding swangas. These vocabulary words — they refer to his car — are among many popularized by Wall in his 2000s-era hip-hop. But the rapper, who released his Diamond Boyz album earlier this year, is creating much more than a dope freestyle with the launch of his Trahan’s Wings & Daiquiris concept — six more locations bow this summer — and a forthcoming collab with 8th Wonder Brewery. “I’m very Houston-centric,” he says proudly. Can you spot the fake fact about Wall?

Julie Soefer
5068_170322_PaulWall2

1.


You can score a custom grill without leaving the house with his new delivery service Grillz On Wheelz. “We make a mold of your teeth, cast the gold, set the diamonds, and send it back.”

2.

Wall, who now pals around with retired Rockets point guard Kenny Smith, attended the Smith’s basketball camp at age 12 — and won MVP. “They taught us you can be whatever you want to be as long as you put in the work. That resonated with me."

3.

He asked Beyoncé Knowles out in middle school. “We were in the same grade, and I asked her to a dance.”

5102_170322_PaulWall

Art+Culture
Reyna Group Owner Leads Real Estate Market with Passion and Excellence

MICHELLE REYNA WYMES, a distinguished name in the Houston real estate market, is the owner of the successful boutique brokerage, Reyna Group. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Michelle has deep-rooted connections to the community she serves with dedication and pride.

Keep Reading Show less

The lobby of White Elephant Palm Beach

COVERED IN VERDANT vines and flanked by tall palm trees, the entrance to the White Elephant Palm Beach feels like passing into a stately home, rather than one of the island’s newest resorts. The building is 101 years old, and while the original footprint and façade remain, the interior has a decidedly updated, ultra-luxe beach vibe.

Keep Reading Show less

Photographer Jhane Hoang with two covers she photographed

ONE OF Houston CityBook’s most beloved photographers was recently diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer. Jhane Hoang has been behind the camera for some of the magazine’s most ambitious shoots — including an overnight shoot at the then-new Weiss Energy Hall at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and a cold rainy shoot at the Houston Zoo where the crew used a concessions stand as a staging area for hair and makeup.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment