Exhibit explores Atlanta's hip-hop scene through EarWax Records
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EarWax Records storefront. Credit: Jasz Smith
Darryl "Jasz" Smith didn't set out to immortalize EarWax Records in conjunction with hip-hop's 50th anniversary, but the opportunity to partner with Emory University to showcase its legacy in Atlanta was too good to pass up.
- "The fact that it happened and how it happened was very organic," Smith, the owner of the business, tells Axios. "I stepped up and did the best thing that I could do to represent 50 years of hip-hop."
Driving the news: The result is the "You Don't Got Dis: A Hip Hop Legacy" exhibit open through Jan. 7 at Science Gallery Atlanta.
- The free exhibit explores the city's hip-hop history through a treasure trove of items from the bygone Atlanta record store.
- Though initially scheduled to end on Dec. 3, it will remain at the gallery through Jan. 7.
Why it matters: EarWax's contribution to the city has not been "suitably noted," Sonia Murray, an Atlanta journalist who previously worked as a reporter and music critic for the AJC, tells Axios.
- "I'm glad that he took it upon himself to remind us as to why it should have been included," Murray says, referring to Smith.
What to expect: Visitors will be transported back to a time before cell phones and music streaming services — when EarWax was a gathering spot where people bonded and traded hot takes over the latest tracks and albums.
- Also on display are photographs, hard-to-find mixtapes, CDs, cassettes and vinyl, vintage promotional flyers, rare books about music and a lighted display wall featuring hundreds of album covers.
- Another wall features large QR codes where you can learn about various Atlanta-based artists and popular dance moves.
- Music lovers and collectors will also have a chance to purchase vinyl records from a variety of genres at a pop-up shop.
What they're saying: The record store became known as the go-to spot for DJs, producers, music artists, celebrities, and athletes whenever they visited Atlanta because it was the only place where you could "vibe with a certain energy and people," Smith tells Axios.
- He says the feedback he's received about the exhibit has been positive.
Catch up quick: EarWax Records opened in Midtown at the corner of Peachtree and 11th streets in 1993 and sold vinyl, cassette tapes and CDs. Smith tells Axios the store moved due to "gentrification" in 2002 to a location on Spring Street where it operated for about five years.
- Smith tried to get a new location on Peters Street, but that did not work out, and the store closed permanently.
The bottom line: Murray tells Axios that EarWax was part of an era in Atlanta where a record store on Peachtree Street was the destination for the city's growing hip-hop industry.