Fat Tony II

And for the second Fat Tony post of this week...

I linked up again with Fat Tony in late January of this year to shoot more portraits and less DJ action. This time, we met at a music studio on the southwest side of town. Sometimes he records there but more importantly, there was enough space to get a few different portrait options. I think he was only in town for the day before he had to fly somewhere else to do some more rap stuff. After the shoot, we rolled to the thrift shop where he copped an ill Dale Earnhardt tee. RIP Intimidator.

Real Estate 2015 Issue for Houstonia Magazine

Last month I got to know Houston a little bit better as I drove around to photograph a bunch of different neighborhoods for Houstonia's 2015 Real Estate issue. Although there were 25 neighborhoods highlighted in the issue, I was only tasked with visiting five and finding something interesting in those places. I went to places I haven't yet explored and saw communities that I didn't even know existed. My list consisted of Montrose, Bay Oaks, the Energy Corridor, Cross Creek Ranch and Westview Terrace but you should probably pick up the magazine if you want to see the rest! Big shout to Chris Skiles for the assignment that gave me a reason to further explore the city.

Fat Tony

The night was December 4th and I had been trying to link with Fat Tony, a Houston hip hop artist, to work on a photo project that would eventually be shelved. I got in touch via email and, long story short, he was down to be followed by me and my camera.

This particular night he was going to DJ at two different venues in the city after he finished his shift at Cactus Music. The first gig was at a super chill spot called MKT BAR connected to Phoenicia Specialty Foods in downtown Houston. It was just around happy hour so people were sipping beer, tasting appetizers and chatting with friends. The turn-up here was not real. But the relaxed environment did allow me to get in a few quick portraits.

The next gig was on the quiet, unassuming campus of Rice University where an underground dive called Willy's was scarcely populated with a few studious students. I thought to myself, "Self, is Fat Tony really gonna do a rowdy DJ set at this place?" The answer was yes. First of all, beers were like $2 or less and you could get a whole bottle of champagne (which Tony got a few) for $9. This was probably the cheapest place to get a beer in Houston outside of your own living room. The studious students stuck around a lot longer than I expected but soon, the books disappeared into bags and the turn-up became real. Fat Tony partied with all of his homeys, old and new, and kept it going until the very end when an undergrad/manager of Willy's told him he had to shut it down. Shut it down he did. Shout out to the homey Tony for bringing me along for the ride. More to come...