Hip Hop Files: Photographs, 1979-1984

by Martha Cooper, Akim Walta, Zephyr

Hip hop culture emerged from an environment of extreme deprivation and decay in the South Bronx, New York City. The concept of pure invention-of creating something from nothing-was in full effect at the end of the 1970s as graffiti ("borrowed" spray paint), breaking (cardboard as dance floor), and outdoor jams (electricity the base of street lights) captured the attention of urban youth, coalescing into new forms of artistic expression. Fortunately, photographer Martha Cooper was at the right place at the right time to document the people that created the music, dance, and art that became known worldwide. Cooper followed people who would one day become the Rock Steady Crew, Fab 5 Freddy, DURO and DONDI, LADY PINK, and Afrika Bambaataa, to name a few. Now, Martha Cooper has the reputation of being the first and foremost photographer of hip hop culture in New York City. While the publication of Cooper's photographs in the early 80s disseminated the culture both at home and abroad, her new book, Hip Hop Photographs 1979-1984, makes a significant part of her extensive and unique archive accessible for the first time. From 1999 to 2003, the German hip hop head and music publisher Akim Walta tracked down the subjects in Cooper's legendary shots and conducted numerous interviews obtaining insightful quotes and statements to accompany and add voices to the photographs. Other members of the early hip hop scene, including ZEPHYR, Charlie Ahearn, FABEL, and Patti Astor, contribute text and essays, adding fresh data to the growing body of hip hop history. "Marty's pictures capture the exact moment when hip hop traveled from the Bronx uptown, downtown to the Manhattan nightclub and gallery scene. The photos and movies were suddenly in the works and (through her pictures) "discovered" by the press and then seen by the rest of the world." (Charlie Ahearn)

Genres: Music, History, Hip Hop, Art, Photography, Graffiti, Pop Culture

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

She is perhaps best known for documenting the New York graffiti scene of the 1970s and '80s. Her most known personal work began while working at the New York Post. On her return home from the Post she began taking photos of children in her New York city neighborhood. One day she met a young kid named Edwin who helped expose her to some of the graffiti around her neighborhood. Edwin helped to explain to her that Graffiti is an art form and that each artist was actually writing his/her nickname. Edwin then proceeded to tell of the Graffiti King and asked if she would like to meet him. This is when Martha met Dondi, the first one who allowed her to accompany him; while Dondi was tagging she would take photos of his art. In the 1980s she put together a book of photos illustrating the Graffiti subculture called Subway Art. She has degrees in art and anthropology.
She was a photography intern at National Geographic Magazine in the 1960s, and worked as a staff photographer at the New York Post in the 1970s. Her photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian and Natural History magazines as well as several dozen books and journals. She is the Director of Photography at City Lore, the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture. Cooper lives in Manhattan but is working on a photo project in Sowebo, a Southwest Baltimore neighborhood.
In the 1980s Martha worked briefly in Belize photographing the people and archaeological remains of the Mayan culture. Two sites that received publication in National Geographic were Nohmul & Cuello, both under the direction of Dr. Norman Hammond.

[From Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Ulf Jørgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book if you want to learn about the origins of hip-hop.

[Lady-R · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro clásico por excelencia de fotografía sobre la cultura hip hop.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this one yeeeeeeears ago, then put it aside and forgot about it. I just now found it again and thought...oh yeah, I forgot about this! I guess it can probably go back to Half Price Books? But then I opened it and immediately started reading again, so I guess it's staying with me after all!
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Okay, I have still not read every word of this book. It is densely packed! But I've flipped through it to look at the pictures pretty obsessively multiple times, and have finally read most of it at this point. There's a lot of fascinating stuff in here, explored in a great deal of depth--graffiti, break dancing, street parties and the fashion that went along with all of that.

This is a perfect companion for Jeff Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, and worth far more than the $3.00 or so I paid for it second-hand!

[jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for the perfect beat!

[Krish · Rating 5 out of 5]

what makes this book cool - the photographs of course! but more than that, for me, it's a history of my neighbourhood :-)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Priceless photos of hip-hop in its infancy. People look really rad, each in his/her own way. You can tell people put a lot of effort into being unique. Also, graffiti.

[Josue Aka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my dj class. I liked this book alot because it explianed how hip-hop started. It shows graffitti and explians how it coorlates with hip-hop.

[Rushay Booysen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book should seriously be in your collection,beautiful pictorial story of the rise of the hip hop movement

[robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me feel like everything is possible.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha Cooper è davvero un mito!