The corrugated metal walls inside The Krooked Letter custom car shop are decorated with spray paint and a large, blue, ocean-dwelling fish.
The store/garage, located on Lynn Lane, has only been open for a month, but the three young owners already have dozens of shiny 18 to 24-inch rims displayed on racks around the building.
Jeremy Christy, Josh Smith and Johnny Christy are preparing for their store’s first big promotional stunt-a car show Sunday featuring barbecue, clean rides and an appearance by well-known rapper Pastor Troy.
A customer pulls up in a silver Chevrolet Caprice Classic with 20-inch rims. “When’s the show?” he asks.
Sunday, the owners say, pointing to McKee Park, located just across the street from the shop.
Jeremy Christy, Johnny Christy and Smith are hoping the show will attract attention to their specialty shop, Starkville’s only.
“It’s for the public, the people,” Jeremy Christy said.
The show, which begins at 2 p.m. and lasts until about 6 p.m., is free to the general public.
Car enthusiasts willing to pay $35 dollars to have their cars judged, however, could win a hefty reward.
The Krooked Letter is offering the winner $3,500 toward a set of rims from the store. The store sells sets of four from $600 to over $7,000.
The competition will be judged by the three owners and Pastor Troy.
The owners said they will choose the best car based on a number of aspects, including custom modifications and stereos. The second-place winner will receive $500 toward a set of rims from the shop.
Louisiana Tech sophomore Kyle Yates is traveling from Ruston, La., to enter the competition.
Yates said since he entered college in 2000, (the sophomore is also in the Louisiana National Guard and spent a year in Afghanistan) he has worked on making his electric blue 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse unique.
“It started off just like how everyone starts off-‘I’m just gonna put a radio in it,'” Yates said. “Then you say, ‘I just need some rims. It’s all downhill from there. You might as well empty your bank account.”
Yates’ Eclipse has dozens of custom modifications, including a turbo kit, an intercooler, Lamborghini-style doors and a full body kit.
“It’s all about the competition-‘what can I do to make my car better,'” Yates said.
The enthusiast said he attends all the competitions he can and that, most of the time, his investment pays off.
“When I win a car show, yeah, it’s worth it,” he said. “When I’m broken down on the side of the interstate, it’s not.”
The Atlanta-based rapper emceeing the show will not be performing, but he will be bringing four of his own cars. Contestants shouldn’t worry, however-Troy isn’t entering the competition.
The local entrepreneurs are organizing the show in cooperation with Columbus’ hip-hop and R&B radio station WMSU Power 92.1. The station will have a live remote at the show.
The 24-year-old Troy, whose real name is Micah Levar Troy, was born in College Park, Ga. His father, a drill sergeant and pastor, raised him on a church pew. The blend of religious and secular influences define Troy’s musical style.
“Pastor Troy is one of the leading underground artists in the Southern rap movement that began in the late ’90s and continues through today,” former student Caleb French said.
The rapper will be promoting his new album, Pastor Troy: Starring in The Universal Soldier.