DJs mixing; MCs rapping; the flat-tops; the fashion; the perilously acrobatic breakdancing: what started in the Bronx and Manhattan in the 1970s soon exploded out of the New York boroughs and became a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Hip-hop was here to stay. Its relevance and influence has proven to be remarkably durable in the intervening years, but purists may argue that unlike today’s version, hip-hop wasn’t always just about the dollars, bitches and trumped up beefs that we hear about in contemporary rap music.
Hip-Hop Revolution: Photographs by Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper winds the record back to the early days of the movement, as seen through the skilled lenses of three of the city’s pre-eminent photographers. The exhibition includes more than 100 images shot by the trio between 1977 and 1990, and shows the adoption of hip-hop by kids on the street as well as documenting the pioneering musicians who were central to hip-hop culture’s growth in popularity. Run DMC, Queen Latifah, and the Beastie Boys went on to international fame, and they appear here along with earlier figures such as Kool Herc and the Cold Crush Brothers, and breakers like Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers. Caterpillar over to the Museum of the City of New York for this crucial show before 13 September.
Joe Conzo
Almighty KG of the Cold Crush Brothers at Harlem World, 1981
Courtesy of the photographer
Martha Cooper
Little Crazy Legs strikes an impromptu pose during Wild Style shoot,
Riverside Park, Manhattan, 1983
Courtesy of the Photographer
Janette Beckman
Busta Rhymes (Leaders of the New School), 1990
Courtesy of the Photographer
Janette Beckman
LL Cool J with Cut Creator, E-Love, and B-Rock, 1986
Courtesy of the Photographer
Joe Conzo
Charlie Chase of the Cold Crush Brothers at Norman Thomas High School, 1981
Courtesy of the photographer
Janette Beckman
Afrika Bambaata, 1983
Courtesy of the Photographer
Martha Cooper
High Times Crew breaking outside transit police station,
Washington Heights, Manhattan, 1980
Courtesy of the Photographer
Janette Beckman
EPMD, 1989
Courtesy of the Photographer
Joe Conzo
JDL at Skatin’ Palace, 1981
Courtesy of the photographer
Joe Conzo
JDL and Grandmaster Caz at Club Negril, 1981
Courtesy of the photographer
