The Tiniest Art Gallery in the South: There’s a new hip-hop bodega in the ‘burbs.
When speaking of Charlotte’s vibrant hip-hop scenes, North University’s Eastfield Village may not leap to mind. The area, 15 minutes north of Uptown off the 485 exchange, is solidly suburban: full of higher end grocers, familiar restaurant chains and retailers.
Amy Goudy wants to add some culture to those offerings with the debut of The Corner, a higher end hip-hop clothing and art boutique that opened over the weekend with an exhibit space that’s billed as “The Tiniest Art Gallery in the South.”
Goudy is no newcomer to Charlotte’s hip-hop community.
The former manager of hip-hop collective Forever FC booked and promoted shows for years, contributing to the growth of a number of Charlotte artists. She wanted to create a shop that reflected her love for the culture.
“I’m not looking to make this my retirement; I’m doing it because I love the culture,” Goudy said. “I believe in hip hop as an artistic expression, and that’s what I want to bring here: A space for creatives, a space for artists, a space for musicians to feel comfortable and vibe together.”
What to expect
Based on the idea of a traditional bodega, The Corner’s yellow and red vintage sign beckons inside, where a wood and glass counter displays old-school candy like Bit-O-Honeys and Now and Laters.
Next to it, clothing racks hold major labels such as Uniqlo sweats and Supreme T-shirts alongside local brands such as DCCIV and Good Karma. Rare Funko collectibles in the likenesses of Snoop Dogg and Migos line the shelves along with biographies of rappers and custom-designed shoes and local artwork.
Keith Haring dominoes and UNO cards featuring art by Jean-Michel Basquiat are ready for table games.
“I just figured that if I love it, other people would love it,” Goudy said about her eclectic offerings.
And supporting local is one of her standbys. “If you’re a rapper and you’ve got merch, or an artist or a young designer, I’ve got a rack for you. I could have 50 different designers if I wanted to.”
Look for the secret door
Accessed through a secret door disguised as a bookshelf is “the tiniest art gallery in the South,” an all-white, curving stairwell that leads up to the second-story event space. The high walls and neutral palette are well-suited backdrop for the oversized funky art of Distortedd, a celebrated Philadelphia artist with a funky, graffiti-inspired style whose work has been featured in Complex, Fader, and The Source and has worked with brands such as Reebok, Nike and Mountain Dew.
“All of my art is really for the culture,” Goudy said.
Goudy didn’t really grow up in the culture. She was born and raised in the then-working class Los Angeles’ neighborhood of San Pedro. Goudy is biracial and was adopted as a baby by her biological aunt and uncle. Though they were white, “my parents never tried to ‘pass’ me,” Goudy said. “I was always encouraged to have an understanding and familiarity with my ancestry. I grew up with an appreciation for all music; in fact, that’s how my parents met, as music majors in college. My mother was an operatic soprano, and my father instilled in me an appreciation for Black music because he played upright bass in a jazz band. And we always listened to Motown.”
In 1984, her senior year, she watched people breakdancing on cardboard at high school and began going to hip-hop concerts, but she didn’t really embrace the culture until 10 years later, when she moved to Denver.
“I appreciated it before, but didn’t love it until 25,” Goudy said. “I blame Camp Lo, when ‘Luchini AKA This Is It’ broke and I was like, What. Is. This?! That’s when I was like yes, this is it for me, I’m a hip-hop head.”
Hip-hop lyrics
Goudy was a concert promoter at the time, and started paying a lot more attention to the lyricism of hip-hop, instead of solely the beat. “And that was the Golden Age, when you had Common and Nas and Jay-Z, and I was an avid reader of the Source and XXL,” Goudy said. “There was an interview with Biggie in The Source where they asked him his favorite rapper, and he said there’s this kid named Jay-Z who is as good or better than me and he doesn’t write anything down. That stuck in my head, so I bought Reasonable Doubt the day it came out.”
Goudy promoted events with The Lost Boys, Onyx, Rocafella (now Roc Nation), but in 2000 was recruited by her day job to come to Charlotte. She’d just had her daughter Deijah — whose resin art she carries in the store — and Goudy concentrated on being a mother and working full time for the next six years. But the music wouldn’t let her alone.
A hiatus, then a return
Charlotte rapper Ryan Douglas, who performs under the name High I’m Ry, was a neighbor. Once he learned of Goudy’s history in the music industry, he mentioned he had friends trying to throw events and break into the music industry. Soon, Goudy’s home became known as the Bugoudi House, a hub for aspiring producers, rappers and the collective Forever FC. Difficulties caused the business partnership to sever, and Goudy took several years of a hiatus from the scene before being pulled back with the idea of The Corner.
“For the past five years, I haven’t done any events and I haven’t gone to any clubs. I was separating from everything about the hip hop industry,” Goudy said. “But I missed it and I missed the love I had for it, so this is kind of my reconciliation.”
“If I can help build Charlotte up and the culture within Charlotte because I think it is so separated, I’ll feel I have accomplished something. And that would make me happiest, to be able to say ‘Hey, you know what? Pay attention to this city because there’s a lot of talent here.”
The Corner
Public viewing now- March 15
Location: The Corner, The tiniest art gallery in the South
8838 Arbor Creek Drive
Instagram: @thecornerclt
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:30 AM with the headline "The Tiniest Art Gallery in the South: There’s a new hip-hop bodega in the ‘burbs.."
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