There is perhaps no photographer who captured the Eighties and Nineties hip-hop scenes in New York better than Ricky Powell. Known best for his working relationship with the Beastie Boys, Powell was a prolific shooter who captured iconic images of Run-DMC, Madonna, Eric B and Rakim, Laurence Fishburne, Keith Haring, …
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Maidel “La Sista” Canales vividly recalls the “reggaeton fever” of the Nineties. At 16, Canales and her brother, four years her senior, formed the rap duo “Los Brothers,” performing in the streets of Loíza, Puerto Rico, during cultural festivals. “Everyone in Loíza wanted to be a reggaetonero,” says Canales, now …
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Mariah Carey. Tamia. Ruth B. Leon Bridges… And, now, Rylo Rodriguez. For the last year, in a small but substantial corner of YouTube, a Mobile, Alabama rapper has furiously sought to place himself within a lineage of R&B and soul music, despite not possessing any of the technical vocal qualities …
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Big Boi and Sleepy Brown roll through a lavish party with fellow Atlanta stalwart CeeLo Green in the video for their new song, “Intentions.” The track is set to appear on Big Boi and Sleepy Brown’s upcoming collaborative albumBig Sleepover, set for release in 2020. “Intentions” finds the rapper and …
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On June 19th, 1991, Bushwick Bill was pronounced dead. He shot himself in the eye that day, after suicidal ideations and a prolonged argument with his girlfriend. The rapper, born Richard Stephen Shaw, was only 24 at the time, but he had already lived multiple lives. Less than three hours …
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Frenetic, intense and sobering, the “Cops Shot the Kid” video depicts the realities of police brutality and the way it exerts itself on the black community. The visual begins with Nas walking on a beach at sunset, as clips of police dogs barking, dead men lying in the street and …
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