Episode 059: Lance Scott Walker

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Lance Scott Walker began his journey to document the Houston rap scene and surrounding culture with photographer Peter Beste in 2004, quickly discovering just how much there was to learn. But Houston rap - and the layers of community and culture that surround it - goes so much beyond the music. The book engages with the community surrounding the music just as much as the music and artists themselves, providing insight into the great changes brought upon some of the city’s most historic neighborhoods through gentrification and how those changes affect the city’s people.

In our conversation with Lance, we talked the significance of the local and national success of groups like Geto Boys, the long lasting influence of DJ Screw, the city’s obsession with syrup, gentrification overtaking old historical neighborhoods, and much more.

Annotated excerpts on Genius.com:

1. Excerpt #1: The Houston Rap Scene
2. Excerpt #2: The Disease of Midtown
3. Excerpt #3: The Geto Boys’ Influence
4. Excerpt #4: North Side/South Side

Show notes:

1. Houston Rap in XXL
2. Houston Rap in The Source
3. Houston Rap in The Houston Chronicle
4. The epic, nearly five-hour Houston rap playlist Lance Scott Walker created to accompany the book