Words by: Brittany Lopez
Photography by: Fred Agho
Footwear by: Nike Air Force 1 'H-TOWN'
Houston artists went from being locally known to worldwide recognition, making it safe to say that Houston artists revolutionized the world of Hip-Hop. Geto Boys put Houston on the map, but beneath mainstream music, DJ Screw began experimenting and creating the iconic sound of 'Chopped and Screwed.' The slowed-down sound gained popularity and attention from local Houstonians, nicknaming the city "Screwston." This phenomenon caused a cultural reset by finding a new appreciation of jewelry, cars, clothes, and "reppin' your hood." Dj Screw started selling mixtapes at school for lunch money. Screw's sound spread across the city, tape to tape and hand to hand without knowing the impact it would cause. Thirty years later, people are still searching to get their hands on these tapes.
"$10 to buy a tape, $12 you can get shouted on a tape, from $15-$20 you could hop on the mic to shout your hood out" - Bun B
Jugg Haus Archive consists of a group of local Houstonian music enthusiasts. This group has gathered legendary pieces of memorabilia such as cassettes, vinyl records, vintage t-shirts, obituaries, and merchandise honoring Houston’s artists. Working to keep this history of Hip-Hop alive. Cameron Strickland, also known as Henny, is the founder of Jugg Haus Archive. The youngest Houston hip-hop historian archivist. With influence from his father, Henny's collection started with 'Balls and My Word' by Scarface in 2017 but solidified itself in 2019 and has progressively grown since then. It takes a lot of work and dedication looking for these archives. Sometimes it takes searching in places one would not expect, and at other times with luck, archives find you before you find them. For example, after a long and strenuous search for the 'Guerilla Maab - Rise' tape, Henny finally got ahold of it when a good friend gifted it to him.
"I wait for the tees to come to me," Mariana states, "that's when there's the most sentimental value behind it, and it feels like it is destined!" Mariana Carrasco collects a range of memorabilia, but her treasured items are vintage tees. "Being a woman in a male-dominated industry has a responsibility to influence others to be authentic to themselves and to continuously encourage people to do what they enjoy regardless of the stereotypes." Although Mariana grew up around the culture, she started accumulating and researching amid covid in 2020. "I just had more free time and could explore things. I enjoy this and wouldn't want to get rid of my collection! There isn't any monetary value."
Jugg Haus Archives plans on finding a brick-and-mortar museum space and establish a hip-hop foundation for the youth. The group agrees that preserving history and educating others to keep Houston's hip-hop legend’s story alive and relevant is a priority. "Giving back to the community and keeping it authentic is what [is] most important."
