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Samplified Studios Mini-Exhibit Opens

Department News, Houston Hip Hop

Fans of Houston hip hop who have enjoyed the Library’s main floor exhibit DJ Screw and the Rise of Houston Hip Hop will want to check out our new mini-exhibit Samplified Studios: Capturing the Sound of Houston Hip Hop. This small exhibit is on the 2nd floor of M.D. Anderson Library right next to Special Collections, and contains rare memorabilia from one of Houston’s noted independent recording studios. The exhibit runs through September 21, 2012.

Engineer Keenan “Maestro” Mosley, originally from Philadelphia, was born in 1958. He first started a recording studio in Philly, then relocated with his three brothers to Houston. He reopened Samplified Digital Recording Studios in Missouri City around 1990. There he recorded artists such as DJ Screw, K-Rino, Point Blank, BAM, the Terrorists, Klondike Kat, Big 50, and more for over a decade. He also wrote his own music, produced, and kept a detailed audio diary of his life. Mosley, who went by the professional name Keenan Lyles, died in 2010 at the age of fifty-two.

This exhibit celebrates the recent acquisition by the Library of the Samplified Digital Recording Studios Records, a collection of master tapes, business documents, photographs, and posters donated by Mosley’s son, Kendall Mosley. For more on Keenan Mosley and his son Kendall, who raps under the name Chane, check out the following articles.

Chane: Rapper Confronts Dad’s Death in Wrenching Video, Houston Press

Chane: Rapper’s Late Father Was Partner, Mentor, “Maestro”, Houston Press

Chane Drops Samplified Successor, 29-29/Houston Chronicle

 

Videos Covering Women’s Lives and Issues Now in the Digital Library

Carey C. Shuart Women's Archive and Research Collection, Department News, Digitization

A new digital collection, the UH Women’s Studies Living Archives Recordings, is now available in the UH Digital Library.

This collection of 49 videos recorded between 1995 and 2009 document the Living Archives series. This series of events, sponsored by the UH Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program and the Friend’s of Women’s Studies, consist of panel discussions and interviews with topics covering diverse aspects of women’s lives in Houston and the issues that affect them.

The videos in this collection cover such topics as women in sports, female politicians, women and religion, motherhood, and breast cancer survival. Among the notable women interviewed are former mayor Kathy Whitmire, women’s activist Nikki Van Hightower, and former city councilwoman Eleanor Tinsley.

A Screwed Up History Video Now Online

Events, Houston Hip Hop

Rapper Bun B telling a story at A Screwed Up History event

In March, the UH Libraries copresented a day-long conference event called A Screwed Up History during which rap legends like K-Rino, Willie D, Lil’ Keke, ESG, Bun B and more spoke in-depth about the history and culture of Houston hip hop. For those who were not able to attend Awready! The Houston Hip Hop Conference, or those who would like to re-watch the enlightening presentations and frank and funny panel discussions, the UH Libraries has uploaded six hours of footage from the event. The videos are available on the conference web site, on YouTube, and on the DJ Screw… exhibit web page.

A Screwed Up History web page with embedded videos

Julie Grob with Meshah Hawkins & ESG
Maco L. Faniel (speaker/moderator), K-Rino, Steve Fournier, Willie D, Ricky Royal
Lance Scott Walker (speaker/moderator), Meshah Hawkins, Lil’ Keke, Shorty Mac, ESG, Big Pokey
Slabs & Syrup (YouTube)
Langston Collin Wilkins (speaker/moderator), Eddie Kennedy (3rd Coast Customs), ESG, Lil’ Randy
Dr. Ronald J. Peters (speaker/moderator), Julie Grob (moderator), ESG, Lil’ Randy
Matt Sonzala (speaker/moderator), Chingo Bling, Paul Wall, Bun B, OG Ron C
Dr. Anthony B. Pinn, Julie Grob

Items Added to Perales Digital Collection

Collections, Digitization, Exhibits, Hispanic Collections
Service denials

A list of locations where Mexicans were denied service, from the Alonso S. Perales files, 1940s.

The digital collection formerly called Photographs from the Alonso S. Perales Papers has been expanded and renamed Selections from the Alonso S. Perales Papers. In addition the the previous published photographs, the collection now contains documents that further highlight Perales’ life and career as a civil rights lawyer, diplomat, and political leader.

Alonso S. Perales (1898-1960) was one of the most influential Mexican Americans of his time.  Perales saw himself as a defender of la raza, or race, especially battling charges that Mexicans and Latin Americans were inferior and a social problem. Perales was one of the founders of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in 1929 and helped write LULAC’s constitution, and he served as the organization’s second president.

Alonso S. Perales

Alonso S. Perales

An intellectual who firmly believed in the law, Perales wrote about civil rights, religion and racial discrimination, which he argued “had the approval of the majority.” His work included the pamphlet “Are We Good Neighbors?” and the two-volume set, “En defense de mi raza.” A member of the American Legion and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, Perales was also a columnist for “La Prensa” and other Spanish-language newspapers.

View the complete collection in the UH Digital Library, or learn more about the conference that accompanied the release of the original digital collection, In Defense of My People: Alonso S. Perales and the Development of Mexican-American Public Intellectuals.

Special Collections is Hiring!

Department News

We are currently looking for recent library school graduates for two fellowship opportunities in Special Collections. Take a look:

Houston and Texas Archives Fellowship

University Archives Fellowship

Both positions involve arranging and describing archival collections as their primary responsibility. Fellows will also supervise students in these tasks and provide support for reference service and digital projects. For more information about the fellowships, the University, and the city, visit the links above.

Candidates must be able to begin work no later than Monday, August 27, so apply soon!

 

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