'Don't Die': The Origins of Houston's New Underground Movement

Cover art for “Welcome to Heaven” by HVN.

Notorious for creating chopped and screwed music and its role in the development of Southern culture, Houston has truly risen amongst the ranks as far as being considered a hub for music and arts. From enormous stars like Travis Scott to promising up-and-coming acts such as Maxo Kream and Sauce Walka, Houston has remained in the conversation when discussing cities with new talent.

Although many will attest to Houston’s impact in music culture, many Houstonians still feel that the city hasn’t done a satisfactory job of maintaining its representation in today’s music scene. 

After all, how does the fourth-largest city in America have only one household name in the music industry that isn’t named Beyoncé? Spearheading the movement to change that is an underground rap scene called Don’t Die.

The movement was originally founded by artist, brand owner, and event curator, HVN. Born in Beaumont, Texas, HVN admired Houston’s culture from a close distance, but also dreamed beyond the city limits—the music scene, like many others in the South, lacks media resources and can be slow to change.

HVN coined the movement's name Don’t Die in 2015 when he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, a disease he still battles with unto this day. HVN's resilience served to not only be the motivation he needed, but that so many others in Houston did as well.

Don’t Die’s founder HVN.

Infusing vintage punk rock with modern day rap, remaining solely for the youth, and incorporating all genres of music, the Don’t Die movement has authentically become Houston’s best kept secret.

 From an outside perspective, it’s easy to view Don’t Die events as being like other local shows at rundown venues, but that’s far from the case. Songs such as “Run Down” by rapper BBY Kodie were birthed on the first Don’t Die stages and were loved by crowds who may not have even known the lyrics. It was truly a remarkable thing to witness a room of 100 supporters grow into a unmeasurable fan base in such an authentic way. In an age where growing a fanbase begins on social media, the Don’t Die collective did the opposite by focusing on bringing “clout” from real life to the internet. 

5 years later, the movement has grown tremendously and has helped propel prolific Houston upstarts BBY Kodie and Fade Em All’s careers. Before Kodie was a SoundCloud phenomenon and before the band Fade Em All toured across the nation, the two mastered their crafts on the chaotic stages of Don’t Die. 

Fade Em All performing.

At the center of the movement is its founder, HVN, and its brightest star, BBY Kodie. Kodie serves as the main act at almost every show and leads a movement that sounds and looks like the future of rap music. By mixing a stage presence usually found in punk rock shows with southern swagger and wordplay, Kodie is hard not to love. Although many have attempted fusing personas found in different genres, few successfully deliver that authenticity when you know the artist is truly being themselves.

Kodie is all that and more. Whether it’s his unique choices of artistic direction or just how distinct he sounds sonically, the kid delivers in a way that never disappoints. 

BBY Kodie performing. Photo credit: Morgan Symone

HVN is known to be Kodie’s right hand man, but is a talented artist in his own respect. HVN has made a name for himself through the Don’t Die events alone, but continues to expand his brand as he recently released his debut project Welcome to Heaven. The project enlists some notable names such as BBY Kodie and TisaKorean while sonically sounding ahead of its time.

Nonetheless, it is still early for the entire Don’t Die movement. Although the forerunners of this movement will contribute to its overall growth and success, we cannot ignore the fact that the movement itself is what carried these artists to new heights. What separates these artists and this movement from any others is that it’s authentically for the kids, by the kids, of the kids. Meaning that no matter how who emerges from the stages of Don’t Die, it will always serve the future hopefuls of tomorrow. 

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