Peter Beste: HOUSTON RAP
About:
Houston Rap is an immersion into the everyday life of the Houston hip-hop community. This hardcover 272 page book features the photography of Peter Beste who spent 9 years documenting the culture alongside writer Lance Scott Walker. The book is edited by Johan Kugelberg who also worked with Peter on his previous book True Norwegian Black Metal (Vice) which to date has sold through 4 editions.
The Houston, Texas neighborhoods of Fifth Ward, Third Ward, and South Park have grown to be hallowed ground for modern hip hop culture, possessing self-contained celebrities, entrepreneurs, support networks, and a micro-economy of their own.
Houston Rap profiles noted artists such as Bun B of UGK, Z-Ro, Big Mike, K-Rino, Willie D of the Geto Boys, Lil’ Troy, Street Military and Paul Wall, alongside reflections on the lives of departed legends such as DJ Screw, OG Style, Pimp C, and Big Hawk.
The book also features community leaders, rappers, producers, businessmen, and family members, all providing an astonishing and important insight into a great American cultural narrative.
“We edited the book as a 24 hour glimpse into the culture,” says Johan Kugelberg. “We take you from the projects to the studio to the strip club and back, all along with an on-going oral history narrative from the people of the culture.” “We see it as an immersion,” says Peter Beste. “The idea was always to provide an insight into the community of the arguably most powerful hip-hop scene in the world today.”
(copyright: Peter Beste)