Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician and the mayor of Houston since January 2, 2010. She served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller from 2004 to 2009.

Parker is Houston's second female mayor, and one of the first openly gay mayors of a major U.S. city.

Parker was born in Houston and raised in the community of Spring Branch, where she attended public schools. Her mother was a bookkeeper, and her father worked for the Red Cross. In 1971, when Parker was 15, her family moved to a U.S. Army base in Mannheim, Germany for two years. In Germany, she volunteered as a candy striper in the Red Cross youth service organization and worked at the base library.

Parker began attending Rice University on a National Merit scholarship in 1974, working several jobs to pay for her room and board. A member of Jones College, she graduated in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, psychology and sociology.

Prior to serving as an elected official, Parker worked in the oil and gas industry as a software analyst for over 20 years, including 18 years at Mosbacher Energy. In addition, she co-owned Inklings Bookshop with business partner Pokey Anderson from the late 1980s until 1997 and served as president of the Neartown Civic Association from 1995 to 1997. In 1986, she was president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.

Bernard Freeman (born March 19, 1973) better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz). He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas. He recently released his third official solo album Trill OG on August 3, 2010, which received a 5 Mic "Classic" rating in The Source Magazine - the first album in over five years to receive the honor. Bun B is married with two stepchildren.

In the late 1980s, Pimp C started the rap duo UGK. They then got signed to Jive Records where they released their major label debut album, Too Hard to Swallow, and their sophomore album, Super Tight.... Their third album, Ridin' Dirty reached the R&B Charts in 1996 peaking at number 2 and the Billboard 200 chart peaking at number 15. After releasing their fourth studio album, Dirty Money, Pimp C got sentenced to jail.

When Bun B's UGK partner, the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler entered a jail sentence on an aggravated gun assault charge in 2002, Bun B made guest appearances on numerous albums by other rappers and released a 2005 mixtape titled Legends. Singles featuring a Bun B guest appearance included "They Don't Know" by Paul Wall, "Gimme That" by Webbie and "I'm A G" by Yung Joc. Bun B also appeared in a documentary titled Screwed In Houston produced by VBS/Vice Magazine that details the history of the Houston rap scene.