Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1405910
to produce a book. Her two brothers, Craig Wilson and Welcome Wilson Jr., were so generous and gave me freedom. When I was in the middle of it, it was kind of organic. I felt Pam was there, guiding me, with all her markings. What's interesting is I would do it on my own in the office, going through binders, folders, images, selecting, selecting, selecting. When I looked at the person, whoever it is — Ann Richards, for example — the picture I selected is the one that was published. It was strange. I was also relying on my museum training, looking at works of art and the best picture. I was even using her loop. For the slides, and film, I would go through and ask myself, 'Which one would she like?' I felt like I was the photographer. In the archive. CS: I just finished an inventory, I'd say 10,000 images. A lot of pictures, digital, scans; I have 19 boxes. When I was invited to take on the project, it was overwhelming. Then it became this adventure and discovery of her work. Craig [Wilson] didn't even know the scale, especially of the rappers. On a hip-hop gold mine. CS: I have a whole set of binders just for Bun B and the rappers, done for XXL and The Source, which were the bibles of hip hop in the late 1990s and early 2000s. People had forgotten she photographed for them. Well, if you're not in the genre, you don't know. It was 20 years ago. Pam was there at the beginning. She had promotional material. She had these beautifully 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 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 52