Commentary: Meet That Mexican OT, the viral man with the chicken

That Mexican OT is having a moment.

The 24-year-old from Bay City, Texas, is the latest regional Mexican performer to take over the hearts and minds of a music-loving world. But instead of corridos tumbados y bélicos or longing cumbias, Virgil Rene Gazca, better known as That Mexican OT (the OT stands for “Outta Texas”), is making waves in the world of third coast rap.

That Mexican OT captured the attention of social media this week thanks to a clip that showed him standing in a field flowing the chorus of “Johnny Dang” — his collaboration with Paul Wall & DRODi — into a microphone floating over the pastoral landscape. He’s rocking the type of cowboy hat found at rodeos and ranchero clubs, and paired it with the oversize Pro Club tee. Gazca is covered in tattoos from his hands to his neck. There’s charrería going on behind him. His flow is impeccable.

And he’s holding a chicken.

The video was originally posted on TikTok on June 1. On Tuesday, the video was reposted on Twitter, where it has already racked up more than 6 million views.

The timing of this viral moment couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment for That Mexican OT. “Lonestar Luchador,” his next album released through Manifest/GoodTalk/Good Money Global, comes out Friday.

This moment of virality comes on the heels of “Johnny Dang” cracking the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, a first for the Texas rapper.

The track is an ode to Johnny Dang, the Vietnamese immigrant turned jeweler who got his start selling chains out of a flea market stall before moving into Houston’s Sharpstown Mall in 1998. Since then, he’s become the go-to jeweler for anyone who matters or wants to matter. Drake’s first ever piece came from Johnny Dang.

Online, That Mexican OT has earned the nickname of “Pablo Wall,” a paisa-fied nod to Paul Wall, whose feature on “Johnny Dang” serves as the bridge that connects the younger MC to storied a third coast rap lineage that includes UGK, “Still Tippin’” and DJ Screw.

For the record:

9:43 a.m. July 28, 2023A previous version of this post referred to a quote in the Houston Chronicle. The outlet is Chron.

As per the chicken, this quote That Mexican OT gave to Chron kind of says it all:

“You see, ain’t nothing like a Texas Mexican. I feel like Texas Mexicans, we just got the swagger, the steelo, you know? We just come so correct with it. Our Spanish is a little twanged out, it’s slang. But we’re still Mexican.”

This outlook on life not only explains the charrería, and the hat. It probably explains the internet’s fascination with him. Just wait until they see him reading “Llama Llama Red Pajama” on TikTok.