Released just two weeks after Fat Pat was gunned down in the apartment of a Houston concert promoter who owed him money, Ghetto Dreams was intended to be the rapper’s coming-out party. Instead it became a tribute to his memory, and the first piece of his legacy. “Peep’n Me,” “Why They Hatin’ Us” and “Do U Like What U See” are readymade singles, crystallizing the Houston sound while maintaining an unmistakably catchy delivery. Pat’s flow brings together elements from great rappers from all points — in him you can hear traces of Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and Master P. There are even traces of Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony in Pat’s singsong flow. Bolstered by the single “Tops Drop,” Ghetto Dreams went on to sell over 20,000 copies independently — a major feat for a rapper who was not around to help promote it. The song — based on “Don’t Stop the Music,” a 1981 electro-funk hit by Yarbrough and People — epitomizes the Screwed Up Click’s blend of vintage funk and gangsta attitude. An essential part of the Houston rap canon, Ghetto Dreams provided verses that would be revisited by Texas rappers for generations to come.