EAST TEXAS UNFILTERED w/ J. Chad Parker Featuring Special Guest CICO P

In this episode, J. Chad Parker sits down with Jacksonville, Texas rapper Cico P for a raw, unfiltered conversation about where he came from, what shaped him, and how he turned a childhood surrounded by public housing, limited opportunities, and generational struggle into a breakout rap career. Cico talks about growing up in the “bricks” and “the park,” watching his family make music, learning from uncles and cousins who rapped before him, and discovering early on that lyrics were a way to tell the truth about the life he knew. He reflects on the realities of small-town poverty, the lack of economic mobility, the way people lose hope—or get too comfortable—and the mindset shift it took to believe he could be something more.

Chad guides the conversation through Cico’s early hustle, working long shifts at Trane while secretly writing music on the line, recording with local producers out of home studios, and teaching himself the industry beat by beat. Cico breaks down the making of “Tampa,” the song that changed everything, from buying the original beat online to laying down the track in a small Tyler studio. He opens up about signing with APG, what he learned from that deal, why mastering and owning your masters actually matters, and the behind-the-scenes path he’s taken toward full independence. They dive into the difference between creativity and clarity, the role of sobriety in writing, and why he believes he does his best work with a clear mind even if the culture around him glamorizes otherwise.

The episode also digs into the meaning behind his lyrics, his strategy of naming songs after cities, the Houston rap scene’s unity, and the personal evolution that led him to leave Jacksonville and start over in Dallas to escape destructive patterns. Cico shares stories about loyalty, losing friends when the fame cooled down, building his own entertainment brand Dog Ties, and the new music he’s crafted with more intention, more maturity, and better production than anything he’s released before. It’s an honest look at ambition, environment, talent, and the relentless grind of an artist determined to defy expectations and write his own story. Subscribe and turn on notifications for more conversations like this.