Ever since his own COVID-19 diagnosis back in March, iconic Houston rapper Slim Thug has been loud and clear about the danger of the virus in Houston. From sharing about his own experience (he drank a lot of turmeric tea) to championing the need for universal healthcare to participating in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s MaskUp! campaign, Slim’s done his part to slow the spread.

Now he’s doing even more. On July 30, the former Swishahouse artist launched his own line of Personal Protective Equipment. “Whenever anybody catches it, they hit my line like, ‘Yo, what did you do to get over it? What did you take? What should I do?’” he says. “That’s why I felt like this here was part of my thing I need to do: Give them a way to protect themselves.” 

The line features an array of masks—a KN95 (with or without an air valve), a disposable version, and another that's cooling—hand sanitizer, a face shield, jugs of isopropyl alcohol, and a combo box. But what sets his products apart from others is the price. Masks, including one printed with Black Lives Matter, range from $2.99–3.99, face shields are $3.99, and a 500-ml bottle of hand sanitizer is $6.99. 

Most of the face coverings are simple, but Slim has a clear message:  "This ain’t about designer, it’s about protection,” he says. “We’re just really trying to keep the people safe.”

Slim says he just wanted to give people options for how they protect themselves, so they don’t get COVID like he did.   

“There wasn’t a lot of people who tested positive at the time when I had caught it,” he says. “It was scary. At the beginning nobody had a lot of answers. They just tell you, ‘Go quarantine.’” Slim says the issue is so important to him because he had been vocal about staying safe in the early days of the pandemic before the big wave hit Texas, and then he himself caught it. “I had to be a voice for what happened.”

Find Slim Thug’s PPE line at slimhtx.org. Also check out his new album, Down In Texas, which dropped in July.