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| The Mash-up: Run DMC by Janette Beckman & Queen Andrea |
It was a time when rappers, MCs, graffiti
artists, b-boys and b-girls ran the city streets. The boroughs overflowed with
a mix of vibrant color and raw grit, peaking the senses while drawing all
around closer.
There began the story of hip-hop, a movement that started out in the parks and spread to become an expressive culture full of heart.
Today marked the
opening of the Museum of the City of New York’s latest exhibit, Hip-Hop
Revolution. Detailed with photographs, preserved memorabilia and listening
stations, the collective display joins together the work of Janette Beckman,
Joe Conzo and Martha Cooper - each who have varying ties to the city, but share
in capturing the essence of hip-hop at its origin.
The work features over
100 images of icons and pioneers during 1977-1990, and chronicles its
development which continues to impact style and music for decades to
come.
“Everything was
happening all around me and it kind of swept me up,” said Beckman, of London,
who began living downtown in 1982.
Upon arriving New
York, she completed work for The Police, The Clash, The Sex Pistols and Boy
George. British punk, Mod and 2 Tone were her background, but that changed
after being exposed to the underground hip-hop scene that acquainted her with
Run DMC, Salt-n-Pepa, Eric B. & Rakim and Afrika Bambaata, to name a few.
“To me hip hop and
punk are very similar,” said Beckman. It was adversity and the lack of
opportunity that she saw give way to a distinct creativity and innovative
spirit reflected in the style, skills, storytelling and culture of hip-hop.
Her work was deemed
too raw for many record labels she applied to jobs initially for, but that
natural state depicted the reality of the times. “There were no stylists or
hair and makeup people on most of these shoots,” said Beckman.
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| Joe Conzo's photos including the Cold Crush Brothers |
“Who could wear the
flyest clothes, cleanest sneakers, the dopest haircut, the dopest shirts, this
that and the other,” Conzo said.
He was witness to a Bronx
in shaky times, but the mentality was never being in a state of ‘without,’ but
was about creating and reinventing with what resources were available. Hip-hop
became a socio-cultural movement and the lens was his way of preserving the
life within his community and experiences with his peers.
He painted a picture
of the South Bronx, where a walk down the street was filled with the aroma of
either cuchifritos or veal parmesan in the air, and down the corner
across the street would be rhythms from the congeros. The
mixture of music, which also melded with the close of disco, and height of
crews such as the Cold Crush Brothers and the Rock Steady Crew are what
revolutionized the scene entirely.
Today Conzo’s work is
archived at Cornell University’s Hip-Hop Collection, which involves the
digitization of over 10,000 photos, but to him those days in the Bronx were as
fresh as yesterday.
“You just walked to
school and it was just a different cast of characters where ever you walked,”
said Conzo. “The Bronx is considered a rainbow and it was just a phenomenal
time.”
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| Frosty Freeze (Rock Steady Crew) by Martha Cooper |
Her images of street
art and b-boys were proof to the outside world that there was something
significant to her initial interest that soon grew into a dedicated passion.
Cooper captured the makings of Wild Style and Style Wars just as
it explode on the scene. The dance of breaking was unlike any choreographed before
and her efforts pitching the ideas to editors was the beginning of greater
coverage.
Cooper, who has been
featured in National Geographic to Vibe, published books throughout the years portraying
the expansive movement and evolution of hip-hop. Her rare images include that
of the Rock Steady Crew, Keith Haring, Fab 5 Freddy, Crazy Legs and the Dynamic
Rockers.
Hip-Hop Revolution is
a follow-up of the museum’s 2014 City as a Canvas exhibition on graffiti art and
runs until Sept. 15.
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