In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, Mass Appeal in collaboration with Chase Marriott Bonvoy credit cards have partnered with Fotografiska New York for “Hip-Hop: Conscious, Unconscious” — a display of over 200 photographs, dated 1972 to 2022, that trace the “rise and proliferations” of Hip-Hop.
Curated by Sacha Jenkins and Sally Berman, the exhibit will span the “four elements of hip-hop” — rapping, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti. The iconic workings of select photographers who helped shape Hip-Hop will be on display for all to see in NYC starting January 2023.
According to a press release obtained by VIBE, the exhibition will also highlight women who have trailblazed the once male-dominated genre; spotlight regional and stylistic diversification and display Hip-Hop’s rise as a billion-dollar industry.
The presentation comes as part of Mass Appeal’s “Hip-Hop 50” initiative in celebration of the authentic and global impact the genre has made. The exhibition will not only debut at Fotografiska in New York but will also go overseas to Stockholm and Berlin.
“It’s easy to forget that there was a time before Hip-Hop was an industry and before it made money,” said Sacha Jenkins, exhibition co-curator and Chief Creative Officer of Mass Appeal. “It wasn’t conscious of itself. It was just existing with young people living their lives, dressing as they did, trying to entertain themselves with limited resources and creating an aesthetic that registered amongst themselves.”
He added, “It wasn’t for the world; it was for a very specific community. Then there was an exponentially paced transition where hip-hop culture became a conscious of itself as an incredibly lucrative global export. The exhibition’s lifeblood is the period before hip-hop knew what it was.”
Viewers can expect to see iconic photos displaying historical themes in Hip-Hop like the East Coast/West Coast rivalry. The exhibit will also showcase the important roles woman played in the genre including photos of Cardi B, Eve, Erykah Badu, Faith Evans, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim, Mary J. Blige, Megan Thee Stallion, Missy Elliot, Nicki Minaj, Queen Latifah and Salt-And-Pepper.
Berman stated, “We made a thoughtful effort to have the presence of women accurately represented, not overtly singling them out in any way. You’ll turn a corner and there will be a stunning portrait of Eve or a rare and intimate shot of Lil’ Kim that most visitors won’t have seen before.”
She added, “There are far fewer women than men in Hip-Hop, but the ones that made their mark have an electrifying presence—just like the effect of their portraits interspersed throughout the show.”
Hip-Hop heads can also expect to see rare images of pioneers like DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash, with documentary images of the Savage Skulls street gang, graffiti writers, and block parties.
These kind of photos will “capture the zeitgeist of the Bronx that permeated as the first Hip-Hop artists who innovated the musical style itself,” including early notable works from Jean-Pierre Laffont, Henry Chalfont and Janette Beckman.
Jenkins added, “50 years later, Hip-Hop culture is something that’s still going that people around the world can relate to as a form of expression. Break dancing in Korea is huge. People don’t break dance in South Bronx anymore but in Korea it’s a big thing. Different parts of the culture took shape in different places around the world, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
Ahead of the partnership, Mass Appeal kicked off its “Hip-Hop 50” initiative in July with Hip Hop 50: The Soundtrack with DJ Premier: Hip Hop 50 Volume 1, produced by the legendary DJ Premier.
Check out images from the forthcoming Fotografiska New York photo exhibition above.