In July 1994, six months after being laid off from his job at an auto parts store, George Lopez – not the comedian – pursued his goal of a life working in music and opened T Town Music and More. Tucked inside Bruton Bazaar in Pleasant Grove, Texas, amongst a neighboring barbershop, nail salon and storefront stalls carrying jewelry, bath products and airbrush t-shirts, T Town has from day one specialized in selling rap CDs – or as Lopez puts it, “what’s hood, what’s street, what’s hot.” In the early days, that meant embracing the sounds of down-south indies like No Limit and Suave House. But by 1999, T Town made a play to join those labels’ ranks by actively championing, distributing and releasing the talent within its own local hip-hop community.
