featured artists
Whether you're a die-hard hip hop enthusiast or just curious to learn more, our exhibitions offer an engaging and enlightening experience for all. Below you will find the names of photographers and designers we highlight who are responsible for shaping the visual identity of the genre.
Cey Adams (b.1962) from Hollis, New York was a subway graffiti writer who stood out among his peers as an advocate for transforming graffiti into fine art. In 1983, he developed a close relationship with the Beastie Boys and designed the graffiti lettering that spelled out the name of the band on their album cover. Around the same time, he began working with rap empresario Russell Simmons creating logos, tour merchandising, billboards, and advertising campaigns for rap artists. By the late 80s Cey co-founded the Drawing Board, Def Jam Recording’s in-house visual design firm which oversaw the visual identities, album covers, logos, and advertising campaigns for Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., Maroon 5, Jay-Z, and many others.
CEY ADAMS
featured artist
featured artist
DERICK G
Derick G (b. 1983) is a Miami historian and Hip Hop documentarian who was a fanatic for cars from an early age. He photographed cars and networked within Miami's low rider community, ultimately becoming a resource to producers looking to book specialty cars for Hip Hop music videos. Finding him on set of music videos, he began organically capturing rare behind-the-scenes moments. These historical images led Derick to a career of being hired by the biggest names in Hip Hop to document the creative process. His main subjects and clients include most of the superstars who have a special connection Miami such as Lil Wayne, Birdman, Trina, Trick Daddy, Drake, Rick Ross, and of course Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull.
With a background in ethnology and photojournalism and a long career behind the lens, American photographer Martha Cooper (1943) is cherished as the doyen of street culture photographers, after documenting the golden years of the New York subway scene from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1984, together with fellow photographer Henry Chalfant, she published the book “Subway Art”, held today as the bible of New York-style graffiti and largely responsible for popularising the graffiti art form around the globe. Her work has also focused on many other similar subjects such as women break dancers.
MARTHA COOPER
featured artist
featured artist
JOE CONZO
Dubbed the guy who "took Hip-Hop's baby pictures” by the New York Times, Joe Conzo shot photos of the South Bronx from 1976 to 1984, capturing early street scenes, hip hop jams, young performers, and events. All of these images and more found their way into the book “Born In The Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop” (2007) which has now received worldwide acclaim. In 2008, the collection of images found in the publication were made part of Cornell University's permanent archive. Today, Conzo's pictures, many of which were captured by him as a teen, have now traveled land and sea, in one form or another, to various parts of Asia, Europe, and the Americas. They are regarded by genre experts and academia as an important lens into the roots of Hip Hop culture, and as an integral source for any serious discourse on the movement.
British-born photographer Janette Beckman began her career at the dawn of punk rock working for music magazines. She shot bands from The Clash to Boy George as well as three Police album covers. Drawn to the underground hip-hop scene, she moved to NYC in 1983 and landed in a city experiencing a cultural renaissance moment with Hip Hop and graffiti invading the downtown scene, birthing a new look and sound. Being at the right place and at the right time, she was available to photograph pioneers Run DMC, Slick Rick, Salt-n-Pepa, GrandMaster Flash, LL Cool J, and many others. She has published five books, including ‘The MashUp’ (2018) which is a collection of her images that were hand embellished by different graffiti artists, merging two visual art forms.
JANETTE BECKMAN
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featured artist
Danny hastings
Danny Hastings was part of the last wave of traditional analog photographers. His unorthodox approach to photography and image making are only one step in his process whereby he makes his creative concepts come to life with novel set designs and props. This was the key to the success of some of Hip Hop's most notable album covers, such as "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers", Big Pun’s "Capital Punishment", NAS’ "I Am...", and Eminem’s "Slim Shady" special edition cover. These accomplishments earned Hastings a place on Complex Magazine’s list 15 Rap Photographers Every Rap Fan Should Know.
A native of Los Angeles, Mike Miller is widely known for his iconic images chronicling the rise of the West Coast Hip Hop scene. Miller grew up on the westside, attending Santa Monica public schools, listening to 1580 AM, KDAY, the first 24-hour hip-hop station in the country. Miller, always a natural behind the camera, got his start as a fashion photographer and ultimately navigated to Hip Hop. In 1989, he snapped his first rap-related album cover for the original N.W.A. group member, Arabian Prince. This was the beginning of Miller’s long history of shooting the key figures on the West Coast rap scene including Tu Pac, Easy-Z, Warren G, Coolio, and Snoop Dog.
MIKE MILLER
featured artist
featured artist
Esdras thelusma
Esdras "PhotoTea" Thelusma is a photographer, filmmaker, and painter from Miami, Florida who has captured Hip Hop legends to icons in the making, and everyone in between. In each instance, Thelusma brilliantly captures the heart of his subjects, bearing witness to a person's magnetism rather than taking it upon himself to produce it. His work with the newest class of Hip Hop stars like City Girls and Sexxy Red or established cultural icons like Gucci Mane and Wiz Khalifa is no exception. His ability to successfully balances editorial stylishness and documentary aesthetics in all of his portraits places him in a new wave of tastemakers capturing an ever-evolving culture. His works on display at the Art of Hip Hop show how he juxtaposes the conditions of humility with symbols of opulence, resulting in a cool, elegant body of work that navigates ideas of stardom, class consciousness, and what it means to honor one's past before they've fully disconnected from it.
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