The Glxsshouse meets with Atlanta-based archivist, Nakari Johnson, owner and operator of Rap Style Archeology. Rap Style Archeology is a collection of rap collectibles that represent hip hop and its presence in the world we live in.  We talk with Nakari about his early influences, how he started Rap Style Archeology, and his process for archiving. 


@rapstylearcheology
Nakari Johnson: @trillaveli
@the_glxsshouse

Besides critical acclaim and Grammy nominations, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Nas, Pusha-T, and other hip-hop heavyweights have something else in common-they all sampled 24 Carat Black–a band who released one of the most sampled albums in history and who never received any financial compensation.  The Glxsshouse met with 24 Carat Black band members, Princess Hearn and Niambi Steele, as well as writer Zach Schonfeld to detail the band’s origin story and legacy in hip-hop and the sampling community.  This is the oral history of 24 Carat Black’s debut album Ghetto Misfortune’s Wealth.  

A fundraiser in memory of 24-Carat Black's drummer, Tyrone Steels, the band's drummer and founding member who died in April. All proceeds will go to Tyrone's widow https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tyrone-steels-family-afford-a-funeral

Zach Schonfeld's 24-Carat Black's Ghetto Misfortune's Wealth book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/24carat-blacks-ghetto-misfortunes-wealth-9781501355509/

When it comes to sports, there have only been 5 pro teams to win four consecutive championships: The Boston Celtics, the New York Islanders, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadians, and the 1997-2000 Houston Comets.  The Houston Comets were the WNBA’s inaugural championship team who over the course of four seasons went 98-24 and only lost two playoff games.  Houston set a tone and did so while forming the original “Big Three” with Cynthia Cooper, a thirty-four-year-old rookie, and two-time MVP; Sheryl Swoopes, a three-time MVP, and the first woman to earn a major shoe sponsorship deal; and Tina Thompson, a four-time All-Star. 

The 97-2000 Comets were the first women’s pro team to visit the White House Rose Garden and three-peat or four-peat.  But despite what all the Houston Comets gave to basketball and the WNBA, eight years after the team’s final championship in 2000, it was dissolved.  A team that helped lay the foundation of the WNBA, was unable to see the league’s 25th anniversary.

The Glxsshouse spoke to former NY Liberty and Houston Comets player, Coquese Washington and Jasmine Watkins, Community Manager at Buzzer to help give an oral history of the Houston Comets historic championship run and highlight the team’s impact on the game and league today. 

This is the oral history of the Houston Comets

The year 1999 in Hip-Hop was a grand opening and closing. New acts like Eminem turned hip-hop on its head with the release of his Slim Shady LP in 1Q.  The Roots release their Things Fall Apart album on the same day, and two months later Ruff Ryders release their compilation album, barely a year after DMX took over the world with his debut studio album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot.  New York still has a stronghold on rap, but there are some folks below the Mason Dixon that won’t go out quietly.  During the summer of ‘99, temperatures are rising on the heels of the Hot Boys Guerilla Warfare album.  And while the Hot Boys were looking for some hot girls, Patrick “Project Pat” Houston was gearing up to share the everyday happenings of North Memphis on his debut album, Ghetty Green.

This is the Oral History of Ghetty Green.