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.