Recently on Instagram, American photographer Jamel Shabazz shared a post of a vintage turntable with a record under the needle and these words on top: “All it takes is one song to bring back 1,000 memories.” The same sentiment applies at the photography show “HIP HOP – Living a Dream” at Galerie Bene Taschen in Cologne, Germany. The group exhibition features selected works of New York City-based Shabazz alongside photographers Joseph Rodriguez (born and raised in Brooklyn) and Los Angeles native Gregory Bojorquez. Though they have worked separately, their unity in their devotion to the music genre comes through in each frame.
“The main artistic connection is our love for the craft and our desire to document history and culture,” Shabazz told Observer. From the streets to the stage, all three photographers captured moments of realness and, though perhaps not so obvious at the time, influential fashion. Shabazz’s Window Shopping from 1980 shows the backs of two young men checking out eyeglasses in a storefront display. And his colorful print of Sneakers, Brooklyn, NYC 1982 will tug at the heartstrings of all sneakerheads. It’s no wonder this particular print has been called a conversation piece; people are still wearing those old-school Adidas, Nike and Converse today.
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Near Shabazz’s sneakers hangs Bojorquez’s 1998 print of a crowd at a club in Los Angeles—more old-school cool. “Bigga B and Orlando from LOUD Records promoted hip-hop shows for a span of years they called, ‘Unity.’ On this particular night, RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan performed and featured other Wu-Tang artists Cappadonna and Killarmy. The El Hacienda Club was packed full of fans, and it was a real sweatbox,” reads the caption.
Many of the actual musicians who made the scene what it was and is are represented on Galerie Bene Taschen’s walls. Artists like Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Biz Markie, André 3000, Big Boi and Swizz Beatz make appearances, their photos are interspersed among photos of young people who have followed their style and swagger.
Indeed, the connection between hip-hop stars and their fans feels palpable in the gallery. Rodriguez captured Master P with his No Limit Crew in New Orleans and traveled to Los Angeles to document the scene on the West Coast, and he has credited the City of Angels as having an impact on his work: “My interest in going to Los Angeles to photograph gang life began in early 1992,” he writes on his website. “I was strongly influenced by the hip-hop coming out of the streets of Los Angeles and other cities across the country. These youth were rapping about very important issues in their communities. Their music was like the newspapers of the streets.”
Bojorquez shared his thoughts on photographing hip-hop fans versus celebrities: “They know the drill, but people on the street sometimes will just tell you to fuck off when you ask to take a photo. Photography is more common now, and people who are not models or celebrities take selfies and post photos of themselves on social media. But in the late ‘90s and before cameras on phones and the digital age, if you had a camera, people would say, ‘Oh wow! You have a camera?’”
In all of these images, music is the driving force: the lyrics and beats that have kept generations dancing and inspired. Hip-hop continues to have a seismic effect not only on wardrobes but also on how fans see the world, and the photos in “Living a Dream” are as poetic and powerful as the lyrics on any hip-hop track.
When asked about his musical favorites and the lyrics that have stayed with him through the years, Shabazz had this to say: “The Message, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. And the lyrics that I repeat to myself often are, ‘It’s like a jungle sometimes/it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.’ Another great track is by Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Step Up: ‘Time to claim something that’s real out here.’ And lastly, Yasiin Bey/Mos Def’s UMI says: ‘I ain’t no perfect man/I’m trying to do/the best that I can/with what I have.’”
“HIP HOP – Living a Dream” is at Galerie Bene Taschen through February 15, 2025.
