Hip-Hop Revolution

Hip-Hop Revolution presents more than 80 photographs taken between 1977 and 1990 by three preeminent New York-based photographers—Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper—who documented hip hop from its pioneering days through its emergence into mainstream popular culture.

Hip-hop culture, incorporating such elements as DJing, rapping, and breaking (dancing), was born on the streets of New York City in the 1970s and grew to have a global impact on music, dance, and fashion. The exhibition showcases the experiences of each photographer during these seminal years, as DJs, MCs, and b-boys (breakdancers) were continually innovating, developing new forms of self-expression. The work of these photographers—featuring early figures Afrika Bambaata, Kool Herc, and Cold Crush Brothers, breakers (or b-boys) like Rock Steady Crew, and breakout acts such as Run DMC and the Beastie Boys—form a broad survey of a movement that is indelibly linked to New York City and still has a resounding influence today.