Moments

1997, 90s, archival print, brooklyn, common, director, hiphop, lauryn, lauryn hill, music, new york, new york city, ny, nyc, scene, tdoteric, video - January 28, 2019

The Moment : Lauryn Hill

When I arrived on set, the taping of the video was in full swing, and Lauryn and crew were handling all that needed to be accomplished, moving from scene to scene.

The Moment: The Original Roots Crew

After meeting The Roots at the park, we started out with some shots near a playground area. Then, we moved and sat on large cement step or bleachers. Questlove, Black Thought, and Malik B. flowed in their space. I didn’t direct them. I just want to capture them in their essence.

The Moment: RZA, Rings

A few minutes later, RZA walked up the sidewalk. I remember seeing the rings on his hand from a distance. As RZA approached the MTV studio doors, I stood in the sidewalk, greeted RZA with “Peace,” and asked him if I could take a picture of his rings.

The Moment: Tupac Blunt Dry

I was able to capture a personal vibe among Tupac and his friends — guys from the groups Thug Life and the Outlawz. After the main taping was done, the news cameras started to leave. The bulk of the news press got the shots they needed to portray Tupac as the “Dangerous Thug,” which they would print in the next day’s papers. It felt like Tupac knew how to play with the media to keep his name in the press. He knew how to press their buttons, challenge them mentally; their only recourse was to portray him as a troublemaker. The pattern was reactive and visible.

The Moment: Rae and Ghost Chill

Manhattan, August 1995 Back Story The opportunity to photograph Raekwon and Ghostface of the Wu Tang Clan came to me because the publicist at the Black Music Department of RCA called to see if I wanted to shoot "on-spec." Shooting on-spec means there is no official assignment. The record label and publicity department know you are a working press photographer, not on staff. They rely on your motivation to market the photo and consider it a win-win situation if you get their artist into the press. Raekwon and Ghostface had just released their first duo album, Only Built for Cuban...

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90s RSS

The Moment : Lauryn Hill

The Moment: The Original Roots Crew

The Moment: RZA, Rings

The Moment: Tupac Blunt Dry

The Moment: Rae and Ghost Chill

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