Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1405904
bound velvet albums as her portfolio. So, she brought hers around to art directors. I have all these sheets in the archives from her magazine work — editor's instructions. It's all typed out. They would say, "This is the assignment, take these kinds of pictures." It's up to the photographer to do her own interpretation. Just look at the pictures she took. Look at Gordon Bethune. Somehow, she convinced him: "We're going to stand on the tarmac at Continental Airlines." He brought his motorcycle; there's a plane there. She convinces them, "I want to do this." They're both on this adventure. She wanted an adventure, and they went with her. With this book, we want to celebrate Pam — we want to celebrate her exhibition, the people, the artists she photographed. TWENTY YEARS LATER + TWO SOUTHERN RAP LEGENDS W e photographed two of the rappers Francis documented for XXL and The Source. Twenty years later, both Slim Thug and Bun B are going strong, icons of a time, place, and sound born in Texas. Here, they remember Francis. SLIM THUG The king of the Northside, Stayve Jerome Thomas, has performed as Slim Thug for more than 20 years. A DIY hustler who rose to fame selling underground mix tapes on the streets of Houston, he's an icon in the city's commercial peak of the early aughts; today, he's a living embodiment of aging gracefully in hip hop, who still releases music to a dedicated group of fans. Slim Thug's legacy is cemented on arguably the best rap song to ever come out of Houston: "Still Tippin'," released alongside fellow Houstonian Mike Jones. This Swisha House alum, as well as official associate to the legendary Screwed Up Click (S.U.C.) — the collective that put Houston rap on the map in the '90s — Thug's prominence has never dimmed even after his commercial peak, due to his shrewd entrepreneurial spirit. These savvy business talents include going independent in order to own his own masters and self-publishing a book in 2012 about personal finance. More recently, his Boss Life Construction company builds low-income houses in neighborhoods including Acres Homes to prevent the slow creep of gentrification. On Pam's portrait sessions. Slim Thug: For the most part, we've been doing photo sessions for 20 years, so it's a constant thing we do. [But] I remember Pam. She was a good photographer, and her being cool with the process, and then seeing the pictures after, was dope. I just fell back and let Pam take the lead. Slim Thug at POST Houston, 2021 Bun B at POST Houston, 2021 On Bun B, Dior oblique bathrobe $2,050, at the Dior boutique, Saks Fifth Avenue, dior.com. On Slim Thug, Louis Vuitton Staples Edition DNA denim jacket $2,060, and 1.1 Millionaires sunglasses $890, at the Louis Vuitton boutiques louisvuitton.com. Pam Francis' UGK, Pimp C and Bun B, 2001 Pam Francis' Slim Thug and E.S.G., 2002 80