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Yo! The early days of Hip Hop 1982-84


Sophie Bramly


This book features many stunning and intimate images of a star-studded roll call of legendary hip-hop figures, many of whom were just relatively known at the time, and while all in their ascendency - including Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Jazzy Jay, Red Alert, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, Lisa Lee, the Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys & many more.

In the early 1980s, hip hop was becoming a fully- formed cultural force rather than just a musical fashion and this book documents all four essential elements of this new world of Hip-Hop: the emcees, the deejays, the graffiti artists and the breakdancers. Here you will see legendary graffiti artists captured at work and play (such as Keith Haring, Dondi, Futura, Phase One, Zephyr, Lady Pink), and breakdancers including members of Magnificent Force, Dynamic Breakers, and the Rock Steady Crew.

Sophie Bramly lived in New York in the early 1980s and became firmly embedded in the emergent scene. The book features many stunning, intimate images of a star-studded roll call of legendary hip hop figures, all of whom were only just getting known or in their ascendency.

These include Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Jazzy Jay, Red Alert, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, Lisa Lee, the Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys and many more.

Bramly knew that hip hop was becoming a cultural force rather than just a musical fashion, and spent many hours photographing the four essential elements of this new world: the emcees, the deejays, the graffiti artists and the break dancers.

So aside from the many stars of hip-hop you will also see legendary graffiti artists captured at work and play, such as Keith Haring, Dondi, Futura, Phase One, Zephyr and Lady Pink, as well as breakdancers including members of Magnificent Force, Dynamic Breakers and the Rock Steady Crew.

In 1984, Bramly returned to France where she became deeply involved in bringing Hip-Hop to Europe, continuing to photograph and document this culture. In 1987 Bramly presented and hosted Yo! MTV Raps, the first ever hip-hop show on the channel.

“All these photos speak for a time that is so special, is never coming back and changed the world. It’s pretty much this experience that changed everything for ever. What makes it amazing, is that you hear stories about superheroes that changed the world, and that was us.” - Grand Mixer D. St

 

Sophie Bramly is a French photographer born in 1959. In 1982, she moved from France to New York at age 22 and for two years documented the burgeoning hip-hop scene, taking pictures of everyone from graffiti artists and breakdancers to rappers such as the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Previously working as a fashion photographer, she returned to France in 1984, bringing a number of US hip-hop artists to Europe and then in 1987 she moved to London to host and produce MTV’s first ever hip-hop show, Yo! MTV Raps. She currently lives in Paris and her work is featured extensively at Hip-Hop 360, a six month long exhibition at the Philarmonie de Paris, France (Dec 21–Aug 22).

Category:  Art & Craft
ISBN:  9781916359826
Publisher:  Thames & Hudson
On sale:  January 2022
Format:  Paperback
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