Moments

Seeing Will in this outfit, I knew I had to take a picture of him. We shot at the edge of the set while the technicians were testing the lighting. After about 10 frames, I thanked Will and we sat back down until he had to get back on camera.

Using the ambient light in the hallway I began shooting them from different angles. After the first 8 frames, the group relaxed and stopped doing the typical 'rap, yo!' poses, vibing with each other. Each of their actions was fluid, in sync with the movements of the others. If there was a low angle shift, someone else moved high; if someone gave a look, someone else would motion or adjust their look to stay complementary to the person adjacent.

Hoodshock was a free outdoor hip-hop festival used as a way to increase voter registration. Conceived and organized by Lauryn Hill, the NYC venue was in front of the Harlem State Office Building at 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

The day of the event, I had no urgency to get there. I was not on assignment to cover the show, just wanted to get a few shots to sell to magazines. This was pre-internet — no social media, no instant sharing, and no cellphone cameras.