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New Finding Aids Published for DJ Steve Fournier and Carlos “DJ Styles” Garza

Finding Aids, Houston Hip Hop
DJ Pace Master flier drawn by Garza's friend Frosty Ice, from the Carlos "DJ Styles" Garza Papers

DJ Pace Master flier drawn by Garza’s friend Frosty Ice, from the Carlos “DJ Styles” Garza Papers

The University of Houston Special Collections is excited to announce that findings aids are now available for the DJ Steve Fournier Papers and the Carlos “DJ Styles” Garza Papers. These two new additions to the Houston Hip Hop Collections provide a glimpse into the early days of hip hop in Houston through the work of two pioneering DJs.

Steve Fournier DJed at prominent Houston clubs like Struts Disco, the Boneshaker, and the Rhinestone Wrangler throughout the 1980s and 1990s, steadily adding more and more hip hop to his mixes and helping to organize live rap performances. He also founded the Rap Pool of America in 1985, which eventually became the largest rap record pool in the country, sending out the latest hip hop albums to over 200 member DJs. His collection contains documents, photographs, publications, and memorabilia relating to his work. Of particular note is the Rap Performer Contracts series, which contains performance contracts for several prominent rappers, including Eazy-E, N.W.A., Sir Mix-A-Lot, Public Enemy, and Ice-T.

Performance contract for Eazy-E and N.W.A., from the DJ Steve Fournier Papers

Performance contract for Eazy-E and N.W.A., from the DJ Steve Fournier Papers

Carlos “DJ Styles” started out as a break dancer with the group The Dynamic Crew, performing under the name DJ Pace Master. Shortly thereafter he began DJing under the name DJ Styles, and eventually became a successful hip hop music producer, working with artists like The Odd Squad, Devin the Dude, and the Coughee Brothaz. He continues producing, mixing, and mastering hip hop music to this day. This collection includes personal records, fliers, posters, photographs, business records, audiocassettes, and memorabilia from throughout his career.  My personal favorites are the hand-drawn fliers from his early days break dancing with The Dynamic Crew.

Both of these collections are worth a look, so browse through the finding aids and then stop by and visit us at Special Collections!

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