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new york post:

From Here to Fame Publishing and powerHouse Books have just released “Hip-hop Files: Photographs, 1979-1984,” a collection of shots by famed hip-hop shutterbug Martha Cooper. The book documents the culture both at home and abroad, with insightful quotes by over 70 hip-hop icons, including Fab 5 Freddy, The Rock Steady Crew, Dez aka DJ Kay Slay, Bobbito, Grandmaster Caz, Dondi, Duro, Blade, Seen, Quik, Lady Pink, Run DMC, Afrika Bambaataa, and others

 

from henxs:

On the 21 of August Martha Cooper will come to Holland to promote her latest book "HIP HOP FILES."

 

Martha Cooper is considered the first and foremost photographer of emerging Hip Hop culture in New York City. Her new book, HIP HOP FILES--Photographs 1979-1984, makes a significant part of her extensive and unique archive accessible for the first time.

 

will be on tour around europe,so keep your eyes out!!!!

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Martha Cooper exhibition in Copenhagen from 3rd to 17th Sept about her new book Hip Hop Files featuring all her classic 80's photographs.

On the 3rd she will be appearing in person at the gallery and later that night ZebRocSki will do a lecture on hiphop in the 80s followed by a screening of Wildstyle at the FilmInstitute. After the film there is a clubsession at Rust nightclub.

 

More info in danish at http://www.byfornyelse.net/

 

Looks like this will the sequal after Henry Chalfant visit last summer.

newerschool book?look for broken windows!!!!!

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”This book is the most definitive schematic look into the origins of a global cultural voice.”

LEE

 

"This book is destined to become the Bible for the Hip Hop Nation!!!” PATTI ASTOR

 

"This is Hip Hop culture at its all time best. A monumental photographic achievement for

the world. It doesn’t get any better than this!” FAB 5 FREDDY

 

 

Dear partners, friends & media:

after 5 years of seemingly endless work and many ups and downs

(EFA bankruptcy...) MZEE Records,

as well as Carharrt, Graco & 12 Medien, our partners in this project,

are proud to present our first photo book

which has already been termed the “Hip Hop Bible” in the U.S. !

You are invited to celebrate the coming release with Martha Cooper, Zeb.Roc.Ski

&us!!!

Please register via email as capacities are limited.

 

Best regards

 

Christina,

Promotion

 

 

Press Information

 

ZEB.ROC.SKI

presents

MARTHA COOPER

HIP HOP FILES

PHOTOGRAPHS 1979-1984

 

Key Note: HIP HOP FILES— Photographs 1979-1984 shows a selection of early pictures

of Hip Hop culture as it emerged from the streets of New York in the 80ies.

 

Facts: 240 pages / 400 colour photos and 50 b/w photos / Format: 300x225mm /

Hardcover Versions: German / English / French

Price: 39.99¬ Release: October 2004

 

On the occassion of the book release, author Akim Walta and photographer Martha

Cooper are touring through Europe and NYC to present the HIP HOP FILES. We would

like to invite you to the presentation to discuss your questions with the photographer and

the author and to celebrate with us 20 years of Hip Hop culture in Europe -1984-2004:

 

Programme: HIP HOP FILES—Photographs 1979-1984 will be represented in a multi-

media lecture and photographer MARTHA COOPER and Author AKIM WALTA aka

ZEB.ROC.SKI will personally answer your questions. A selectio from her pictures will be

exhibited and we will also represent some exclusive 8mm- and video footage from the

early 80ies.

 

Requests for Interviews please email to: {mailto:promo@MZEE.com }promo@MZEE.com

{mailto:var@MZEE.com }Guestlist for Afterparty please email to: var@MZEE.com

 

Website: http://www.hiphopfiles.de

 

From Here To Fame Publishing

Vitalisstraße 379 a

50933 Köln

Tel: 0049-(0)-221-202 35 33

Fax: 0049-(0)-221-202 35 35

promo@mzee.com

{ http://www.MZEE.com }www.MZEE.com

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the tour dates....coming to your town!

 

..........................................................................................

Carhartt presents:

HIP HOP FILES -BOOK LAUNCH TOUR EUROPE

WITH MARTHA COOPER & ZEB.ROC.SKI

INCL. BOOK SIGNING, LECTURE, PRESS CONFERENCE, EXHIBITION & AFTERPARTY !!!

 

18.08.04: BERLIN / GERMANY

19.08.04: LONDON / UK

20.08.04: MANCHESTER / UK

21.08.04: AMSTERDAM / HOLLAND

22.08.04: COLOGNE / GERMANY

25.08.04: STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN

26.08.04: OSLO / NORWAY

27.08.04: BRUSSELS / BELGIUM

28.08.04: HANNOVER / GERMANY

29.08.04: VIENNA / AUSTRIA

02.09.04: PARIS / FRANCE

03.09.04: COPENHAGEN / DENMARK

04.09.04: BOLOGNA / ITALY

05.09.04: ZÜRICH / SWITZERLAND

08.09.04: NYC / USA

 

Dates (excl. German-speaking countries):

 

19.08.04: LONDON

Schedule:

1.00 pm - 4.00 pm: Time for Interviews

4.00 pm - 6.00 pm: BOOK SIGNING PART 1

At (unit G1) Kingley Court / Carnaby Street / London W1

6.30 pm - 9.00 pm: EXHIBITION AND BOOK SIGNING PART 2:

At (unit G1) Kingley Court / Carnaby Street / London W1

9.30 pm - 2.00 am: AFTERPARTY at Ruby Lo / 23, Orchard Street, London, W1H 6HL

 

20.08.04: MANCHESTER

Schedule:

1.00 pm - 4.00 pm: Time for Interviews

4.00 pm - 6.00 pm: BOOK SIGNING PART 1

Magma Book Store / 22 Oldham St. / Northern Quarter / Manchester M1 1JN

7.00 pm - 9.00 pm: EXHIBITION AND BOOK SIGNING PART 2

Northern Quarter Arts Ltd Gallery / 61 Thomas St. / Manchester M4 1NA

10.00 pm - 12.00 am: AFTERPARTY

Basement Club / Rossetti Hotel 107 / Piccadilly / Manchester M1 2DB

 

21.08.04: AMSTERDAM

Schedule:

4.00 pm - 6.00 pm: BOOK SIGNING

Waterlooplein Market Henxs / Graf Store / St Antoniebreestraat 136 / 1011

HB Amsterdam

9.00 pm - 10.00 pm: PRESS CONFERENCE

ELEVEN-11 / Oosterdokkade 3-5 / 1011 AD Amsterdam

10.00 pm - 12.00 am: BOOK SIGNING & AFTERPARTY @ ELEVEN

 

25.08.04: STOCKHOLM

Location: Nitty Gritty Shop / Krukmakargatan 26 / 118 51 STOCKHOLM

Schedule:

04.00 pm - 06.00 pm: BOOK SIGNING

06.00 pm - 07.00 pm: PRESS CONFERENCE

07.00 pm: OPENING OF EXHIBITION

 

26.08.04: OSLO

Location: Barbeint / Drammensveien 20 / 0255 OSLO

Schedule:

06.00 pm - 09.00 pm: BOOK SIGNING / EXHIBITION

 

27.08.04: BRUSSELS

Location: 34, Quai des Charbonnages / 1080 Brussels

Schedule:

18:00: PRESS CONFERENCE

19:00: BOOK SIGNING with Martha Cooper &Zeb.Roc.Ski

20:00: EXHIBITION & AFTERPARTY

 

02.09.04: PARIS

 

 

 

03.09.04: COPENHAGEN

Schedule:

04.00 pm: OPENING OF EXHIBITION at NORSE, Teglgårdsstræde 6a

07.00 pm - 08.00 pm: MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION

09.00 pm - 11:00 pm: FEATURE FILM

23.30 pm: AFTERPARTY at RUST, Guldbergsgade 8 (www.rust.dk)

 

04.09.04: BOLOGNA

Location: Carhartt Store / Via San Felice 13 / 40100 BOLOGNA

Schedule:

06.00 pm - 06.30 pm: BOOK SIGNING

07.00 pm - 08:00 pm: PRESS CONFERENCE

08.00 pm - 10:00 pm: INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS

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PRESS INFORMATION:

 

ZEB.ROC.SKI

presents

MARTHA COOPER

HIP HOP FILES—Photographs 1979-1984

 

”It’s been a long time…” since the individual elements that later became known as Hip

Hop found their way out of the Bronx to Manhattan and were sent around the globe as a package to

Europe, Japan and the rest of the world. In the early ‘80s you were able to recognize the first signs of

this new culture in Europe in form of newspaper articles, music appearances and rap tours. Early

movies like WILD STYLE and documentaries like STYLE WARS were shown on TV. The real boom

and the spread of its cultural assets took place in the summer of 1984. Hip Hop, including MCs, DJs,

writers, and b-boys appeared in numerous TV shows and the music and dancing were everywhere

on the streets and in the discotheques, and clubs. Hollywood movies like BEAT STREET and

BREAKIN’ catapulted the message into the mainstream media.

 

More than three decades after its birth, Hip Hop has made a quantum jump forward. It’s had, and

continues to have, a major influence on global culture and our society, on music, fashion, art,

advertising, design, language…

Hip Hop has grown to be the most influential youth culture on earth.

 

Description:

MARTHA COOPER has the reputation of being the first and foremost photographer of

emerging Hip Hop culture in New York City. Her new book, HIP HOP

FILES—Photographs 1979-1984, makes a significant part of her extensive and unique

archive accessible for the first time. The book documents the beginning of the

phenomenon, now known as Hip Hop. The publication of many of her photos in the early

‘80s, disseminated the culture both at home and abroad.

 

Along with the photos are quotes and statements from the people appearing in them.

AKIM WALTA aka ZEB.ROC.SKI, well-known German Hip Hop head and founder of

MZEE Records, tracked down the subjects in the photos and conducted numerous

interviews. Insightful quotes and statements by over 70 Hip Hop icons accompany the

shots including LEE, FAB 5 FREDDY, the ROCK STEADY CREW, DEZ aka DJ KAY

SLAY, BOBBITO, GRANDMASTER CAZ, DONDI, DURO, BLADE, SEEN, QUIK, LADY

PINK, RUN DMC, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, STEPHAN EINS, RUZA BLUE, MICHAEL

HOLMAN, RAMMELLZEE, FUTURA 2000 and many others.

 

 

ZEPHYR: Hip Hop’s street components 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 source: the base of street lights) captured the attention of urban youth,

coalescing into new forms of artistic expression.

 

MARTHA COOPER's willingness to travel with cameras in risky areas placed her in the

centre of the Hip Hop movement. Her dramatic photos are a testament to her

courage to carry her cameras into dangerous areas in order to get the shot.

Cooper photographed kids in their own world: playing, exploring, being creative.

Fortunately, Martha was at the right place at the right time to document young people

creating the music, dance, and art that became known world-wide. She followed people

who would one day become icons.

 

The book includes a thoughtful introduction by ZEPHYR as well as essays by CHARLIE

AHEARN, PATTI ASTOR, and POPMASTER FABEL, participants in the early Hip Hop

scene.

 

"MARTY’s pictures capture the exact moment when Hip Hop travelled from the Bronx

uptown, downtown to the Manhattan night-club and gallery scene. The photos and

movies were suddenly in the works and "discovered" by the press (through her pictures)

and then seen by the rest of the world." CHARLIE AHEARN

 

 

 

CHAPTERS:

A: INTRO incl. an introduction by ZEPHYR

1: WRITERS

2: B-BOYS

3: DJs & MCs incl. an essay by Charlie Ahearn

4: DOWNTOWN

5: GRAFFITI ART incl. an essay by Patti Astor

6: MEDIA

7: STYLE incl. an essay by POPMASTER FABEL

Z: OUTRO incl. an epilogue by ZEB.ROC.SKI

 

Author and contributors Information

MARTHA COOPER is a documentary photographer who has specialised in shooting

urban vernacular art and architecture for over twenty-five years. Her photos have been

extensively exhibited and published worldwide. She received her Diploma in Ethnology

from Oxford University, England. In 1967, COOPER returned to the United States and

began working at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., before becoming a

curatorial assistant at the Yale University Museum. She later went on to serve as a staff

photographer for the New York Post for three years before leaving her job in 1980 in

order to spend more time photographing subway graffiti and breaking. In 1984, in

collaboration with HENRY CHALFANT, she published SUBWAY ART (Thames and

Hudson/Henry Holt), the classic book showcases the best painted trains of the era for

viewers to study at will, often referred to as "The Bible" by graffiti aficionados. In 1990,

her photographs of New York’s painted memorial murals, which were painted for the

victims of tragic and untimely deaths, resulted in a book, R.I.P.: MEMORIAL WALL ART

(Thames and Hudson/Henry Holt), with folklorist JOSEPH SCIORRA. MARTHA is the

Director of Photography at City Lore, the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture.

 

AKIM WALTA aka ZEB.ROC.SKI from Germany is an active b-boy and writer since the

early ‘80s and well known in the Hip Hop world for his contributions to its growth, globally.

He is author of GRAFFITI ART GERMANY (Schwarzkopf, 1994), and publisher of Hip

Hop magazines like MZEE & ON THE RUN. In 1993, he founded MZEE Records, and

FROM HERE TO FAME, a Hip Hop network based in Cologne. He is a Hip Hop historian

and involved in many projects regarding Hip Hop culture.

 

ZEPHYR is a world-renowned graffiti artist and painter, whose work is part of the

permanent collection in the Groningen Museum, Netherlands and the Museum of the City

of New York. He is also frequent contributor to Juxtapox and While You Were Sleeping

magazines. He is author of the 2001-released book Dondi White - Style Master General

(Regan books / Harper Collins). Currently, ZEPHYR is a graphic artist and resides in New

Jersey./ Harper Collins). Zurzeit arbeitet ZEPHYR als Künstler und Illustrator in New

Jersey.

 

Reactions:

”Like a New York City subway ride back to the early 1980s. This is Hip Hop culture at its

all time best. A monumental photographic achievement for the world. It doesn't get any

better than this!” FAB 5 FREDDY

 

"Marty Cooper was the first Hip Hop photographer and she remains the best."

STEVEN HAGER, author of Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap

Music, and Graffiti

 

”Forget the limos and the bling-bling and take a ride back to the real deal. This book is

destined to become the Bible for the Hip Hop Nation—don't miss the train!” PATTI

ASTOR, founder FUN Gallery

 

”Martha Cooper’s latest book is way beyond Hip Hop. It captures New York, as well as

creation, desperation, and exhilaration. Hot buttered popcorn!” BOBBITO aka DJ

CUCUMBER SLICE, author of Where'd You Get Those?, columnist for Vibe Magazine

 

"Gripping, broadly documented cultural record of Hip Hop's audacious, street-smart, and

hyper-creative early years. Cooper’s photographs brim over with energy, passion, and a

raw stylishness. Hip Hop Files is a richly celebratory tribute."

GEORGE PITTS, director of photography of Vibe Magazine

 

”Young'uns who think that Hip Hop is what they see on MTV need to pick up Martha

Cooper's Hip Hop Files today. Her beautifully-composed photos put you right in the thick

of the action, New York City-stylee, 1979–1984. BILL ADLER, author of Tougher than

Leather: the Rise of Run-DMC owner of Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery

 

"This book is the most definitive schematic look into the origins of a global cultural voice."

LEE

 

”The best of New York street art of the past twenty-five years has been kept alive by the

brilliant photographs of Martha Cooper.” JEFFREY DEITCH, Deitch Projects

 

”Marty's curiosity and insight about cultures world wide has made us all want photographs

that teach as well as entertain. Without her unique photographic collection, this culture

might have been ignored, overlooked or misunderstood. Marty bravely and tirelessly

dedicated herself to recording the Hip Hop world by becoming part of it. Here you have an

insiders view.” SUSAN WELCHMAN, photo editor, National Geographic magazine

 

”Martha is so awesome to have documented our movement and our culture. With all of

the obvious photos she took, capturing time and history with every click, I feel her passion

for us. Her contribution to the expansion and influence of the urban art form becoming a

global phenomenon cannot be understated. Martha Cooper was an (embedded)

photographer with the troops on the frontlines. In two words: THANK YOU!” FUTURA

2000

 

 

FAQ’s – (Frequently asked questions):

 

Why did Martha Cooper start to take photos of Graffiti?

MARTHA COOPER: I was working as a staff photographer for the New York Post. On my way back

to the paper, to leave in my film every day, I liked to drive through Alphabet City—Avenues A, B, C,

D—and take pictures to finish off the roll of film in the camera. I was interested in what kids were

doing when their parents weren’t watching. Since I used to drive through the same neighbourhood

every day, the kids recognised me. One day, a young boy named Edwin asked me, ”Why don’t you

take pictures of graffiti?”

 

He showed me his little notebook with a drawing in it and then showed me how he’d painted it on a

wall. I was fascinated because I couldn’t believe he had actually designed this piece. That was the

first time I ever thought about photographing graffiti. You have to understand that when people

looked at the trains, nobody really understood what those letters were. They thought they were dirty

words. That picture of Edwin was my first picture of graffiti. Edwin asked if I wanted to meet a king

and said that he knew DONDI. So we got in my car and he directed me to DONDI’s house in the

East New York section of Brooklyn.

 

When we got there, I introduced myself, and DONDI pulled out his piecebook and showed me this

newspaper clipping from the Post pasted inside the front cover. It showed one of his throw-ups on a

wall in the background of one of my photos with a credit, ”Photo by Martha Cooper.” So my

introduction went perfectly because DONDI could see that I was a real photographer who might be

able to get his work published.

 

What really drew me in was seeing DONDI and his friends hanging out for hours drawing pieces,

making lists of the colours they needed, getting the paint, going to the yards, and painting the piece

on the train. I thought this was totally amazing because I had assumed that it was just random.

Suddenly, it was like a foreign language becoming clear to me. Then I was completely hooked.

 

I credit DONDI with getting me really interested in graffiti. He defined the language for me and

explained all the different nuances of crews, style, etc. He told me which lines to go to and which

pieces were running on them. I began to spend whole days standing in vacant lots just waiting for

graffiti cars to pass by. I needed more time to do that, so I actually left my comfortable and well-

paying job on the staff of the New York Post in order to pursue this.

 

MARTHA COOPER: I wanted to document graffiti art because I have a strong interest in ephemeral

art in everyday life—the kind of things you won’t find in galleries. I studied art and anthropology in

college and so, for me, this was a natural combination of both. Photographing graffiti was my form of

historic preservation.

 

Why did Martha Cooper start to take photos of breaking?

MARTHA COOPER: The night of January 21, 1980, I was on the staff of the New York Post and the

photo editor sent me up to Washington Heights because they heard on the police radio that there

was a riot. When I got there, about 25 little boys, all very young, were sitting inside the police station

in the subway. The police had confiscated weapons, markers, and other stuff. It turned out there

wasn’t really a riot so the cops let them go. They said, ”Why don’t you explain to the lady what you

were doing?” One kid described a kind of dance where they spun on their backs and their heads and

said that they battled each other for their T-shirts. After the cops released the kids, I asked for a

demonstration and they showed me different moves right outside the police station. I thought this

was a great story, so I called the Post editors and said, ”They weren’t having a riot, they were having

a dance contest.” But the Post didn’t like the idea. No riot, no story.

 

The dance the kids had shown me was so interesting that I wanted to shoot a story about it, but it

was really hard to find anybody who was doing it. It took almost one year to track down some b-boys.

 

 

Why was Martha Cooper important for the Hip Hop culture?

In April 1981, Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper organised a performance at a place called

”Common Ground” where they invited MCs, DJs, and b-boys to perform while they were showing

slides of painted subway trains. It was the first real Hip Hop show downtown. During the invited dress

rehearsal Sally Banes, a New York dance writer, interviewed the b-boys for an article in the Village

Voice and Marty photographed them.

 

HENRY CHALFANT: "Graffiti Rock" at Common Ground was the first public performance of breaking

downtown and it was the first time anybody there or in the media had ever seen breaking. Sally

Banes wrote an article about it and that’s how people found out about the performance and showed

up there. It was the first article about breaking ever and probably the first time that graffiti, breaking,

rap, and DJing were connected under one roof. As a result of our show, Hip Hop became a

phenomenon in the eyes of the media. That’s what set it off!

 

MARTHA COOPER: The media found out about breaking on April 22, 1981, when the Village Voice

published the cover story about this new dance. I think Henry was important in combining graffiti and

breaking with rapping as a Hip Hop package. My photos were important in sending that out to the

world.

 

FAB 5 FREDDY: Breaking had already died down a little bit by that time, but when the story about

the Common Ground show came out on the front page of the Village Voice, the media picked it up

and sort of reignited it, which is kinda cool.

 

FROSTY FREEZE: After our performance at Common Ground, we really started getting publicity. It

was our first real show and it was downtown. When I saw my picture on the front page of the Village

Voice, I was really excited. This article was the reason BAMBAATAA learned about us 'cause we

had mentioned that we got inspired by his b-boys, the ZULU KINGS. Through the show, I got to meet

the graffiti writers and all these guys. We made all those connections and things started working out

extremely well for us.

 

Why the book has come about:

ZEB.ROC.SKI: The agenda for this book was set when we were preparing a special publication

about NYC graffiti writer SEEN. For this reason we searched out Martha Cooper to find more photos

in addition to SEEN’s. She was really open and helpful. When we were diggin’ in her crates for two

days, the idea was born to produce a book with and about Martha Cooper. While cataloguing Martha

Cooper’s incredible number of images, we realised that a cultural treasure of the early Hip Hop days

had been sleeping in Marty’s files for 20 years. The importance of preserving this invaluable treasure

for our culture instantly appealed to us and the concept was born to assemble a complete archive of

her pictures, to make them accessible for following generations.

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RAISING THE BABY

INTRODUCTION written by ZEPHYR

 

Hip Hop has grown up. In the beginning Hip Hop was an un-diapered baby—new, fresh, and real. It

was pure and had never been analysed, scrutinised, or dissected. It had not been gawked at by

outsiders. Best of all, it still existed below the radar, yet to be "discovered.” In a romantic context, Hip

Hop’s street components were artistic, youthful expressions, but they emerged from a sobering

environment of extreme deprivation and decay (the South Bronx, New York City). The concept of

pure invention—or creating something from nothing—was in full effect by the end of the 1970s.

Graffiti, with its "borrowed" spray paint; breaking, which used cardboard as a dance floor; and

outdoor jams that siphoned electricity from the city’s street lights emerged and converged.

 

Of the endless debates surrounding Hip Hop, the most intriguing one is also the most basic: What is

Hip Hop? If Hip Hop were considered to be nothing more than the various art forms or elements, then

the big picture would be sorely missed. This perception would be like viewing a box from above and

not realising that it is three-dimensional. To muddy the waters further, the issue of how, when, where,

and why these components came to be conjoined remains under consideration. I will not attempt to

grapple with semantics or cultural analyses of Hip Hop here, nor will I explore whether the confluence

of Hip Hop’s original artistic components was organic or contrived. These challenges are better left to

scholars, poets, and the original architects of the movement themselves. I will only go so far as to

say that Hip Hop is a method of interpretation, a pattern of thought, and, for so many, a way of life. At

its core, Hip Hop’s contemporary components are not rapping, breaking, DJing, and graffiti—but

multi-culturalism, social activism, and compassion.

 

When Hip Hop first wandered outside the hood, its initial "street elements" garnered big-time novelty-

factor cachet and attracted instant media attention. In the early-1980s, when rap music was rapidly

making its way onto vinyl and into downtown night-clubs, a number of prescient journalists and

photographers jostled to document the scene—with varying degrees of success. The first generation

of professional rappers, DJs, and b-boys generally welcomed the media exposure. But graffiti artists,

who were extremely adept at the art of self-promotion, were the most likely to avoid photographers

and journalists. This was a period of grand adaptation: Hip Hop was being reconfigured and

repositioned in strange new venues. But despite the fact that Manhattan clubs and galleries

presented graffiti, rap music, and breaking for dollars, the street remained the true home of the

movement. As such, pre-existing rivalries and outlaw dispositions remained intact and created an

added challenge to documenting the players of this period.

 

The finest photographs to come out of the early days of Hip Hop were taken by a pixieish woman

with a mischievous, infectious grin. The photographer responsible was not afforded carte blanche or

any other form of special access to the scene. Instead, she relied on her own tenacity, ambition,

creativity, and bold determination to go wherever she had to go and do what she had to do to get the

shot. That photographer was Martha Cooper.

 

By "getting the shot", Martha—Marty to her friends—did a beautiful job to help raise the baby. Her

role was never that of the docile documentarian confined to the sidelines. Quite the contrary—the

original push to bring breaking and subway painting to the mainstream has Martha Cooper’s prints all

over it. Literally. Her very early association with the ROCK STEADY CREW is documented

comprehensively in the B-Boy chapter of this book and I’m grateful for that, since I agreed that I

would not use this forum to trace her every foundational link. I will, however, say this: Martha’s

unwavering commitment to honour the subjects she photographed is why she is counted among the

people who helped make Hip Hop what it is today: the dominant youth culture around the world.

 

The glorious, highly professional Cooper shots of trains rolling through various neighbourhoods (most

often the South Bronx) preserve for us the paintings that only existed for a matter of days or, in some

cases, even hours. Marty’s shooting process was tough-going. She took many of the train photos

from a location that she used regularly for years; an empty lot on Hoe Avenue in the South Bronx

that had a wide view of the tracks. After having been notified of fresh pieces by the writers, it was

there that she waited—sometimes for more than five hours—for particular cars to roll by.

 

Photographing their ephemeral art on trains was an important part of the graffiti painting process, but

some subway painters were more diligent about it than others. Small, often blurry amateur shots of

trains were standard throughout the ‘70s. The photos were almost exclusively shot from the opposite

side of the tracks in outdoor stations with inexpensive cameras. Writers maintained their photos in

albums and traded pictures freely among themselves. In 1980, the impact of a professional

photographer—an outsider—documenting graffiti and the graffiti subculture was significant.

 

Of special note among Ms. Cooper’s extraordinary graffiti images is the series of photos that

document the painting of the DONDI train, "CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE Part 3." On May 31, 1980,

Marty accompanied DONDI to the New Lots train yard. There, over the course of a full moon-lit night,

she photographed the entire process of his painting this whole car masterpiece. High quality photos

of a graffiti artist at work "behind enemy lines" had never been taken before. This type of exposure

showed in stunning detail exactly how a graffiti painter managed to get his art onto the sides of the

trains—a process that was a mystery to most straphangers at that time.

 

Martha Cooper’s highly influential book, SUBWAY ART (Thames & Hudson, London) is a

collaboration with photographer Henry Chalfant. Released in September 1984, SUBWAY ART

showcases the best painted trains of the era for viewers to study at length. The decorated trains are

presented in a simple, straightforward manner. While the New York graffiti painters were giddy about

seeing their work immortalised, it was the ripple effect beyond the city limits that was most

astounding. The book, now in its 16th printing, must be appreciated for what it is: the visual document

that spread the aerosol doctrine world-wide. At the time of its publication, the modern graffiti

movement was limited to New York and Philadelphia. SUBWAY ART changed all that. As a manual

for budding practitioners and a touchstone for veterans, SUBWAY ART’s dramatic influence on

graffiti globalisation is widely acknowledged and universally accepted.

 

The great popularity of SUBWAY ART, referred to by many as ”the Bible”, has been unsurpassed by

any other book on the subject. To put the book’s popularity and longevity in perspective in the 20

years it has been in print it has outsold nearly every other art book on the market.

 

Here is but a piece of the history and legacy of Ms. Martha Cooper—a quiet, unassuming woman

with a very active trigger finger. On a personal note, I have always felt an enormous debt of gratitude

towards Marty. When I was an 18-year-old graffitist, her clean, precise images enabled me to see my

own train paintings properly for the first time. But this is not the real reason that I feel indebted to

her—her humility, grace, and sincerity stand out even above her talent and have always helped to

remind me of what is truly important in life.

 

 

BORN TO SHOOT

A BRIEF BIO OF MARTHA COOPER

 

Looking back and reflecting both on that time and Martha Cooper’s personal history, one of two

distinct possibilities for her emerged—either reject photography and everything associated with it or

embrace it wholeheartedly as a lifelong profession. Suffice it to say, she chose the latter and she

became a legend.

 

Marty was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Ben Cooper, owned a camera shop.

At age 3, when you and I were eating crayons, Marty was shooting photographs. Ben Cooper studied

to be a lawyer, but his career plans changed when he was drafted into World War II. When he

returned home in 1945, his brother Harry convinced him to become his partner. Together, they

opened Camera Mart on Harford Road in Baltimore, one of the last family-owned camera shops still

in business today.

 

On weekends, Ben would take his daughter on photo outings. It was on these early excursions that

Marty fell in love with photography. "My father would take me on ‘camera runs’ with the Baltimore

Camera Club. We’d take pictures down by the harbour and of things like white marble

steps—pictorial photographs. When I look back,” Marty says, ”I realise how much my father’s brand

of urban photography influenced me." In high school, Marty was the president of the camera club and

when the yearbook needed photos, Marty provided them. While in high school, she attended an

unusual radical summer work camp in Putney, Vermont with many politically active kids from New

York City. And there and then New York City became the city of her dreams.

 

Marty was a gifted student; she was a high school graduate by age 16. In keeping with her

accelerated stride, by age 19, she had already earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell

College in Iowa. In 1963, directly after graduating from school, she joined the newly-formed Peace

Corps. She was dispatched to Thailand and assigned to work as an English teacher. While there,

she became fascinated by the hill tribes and photographed them extensively. "When I heard about

the Peace Corps,” she says, ”my first thought was, ‘I wonder if they take girls?’ When I got to

Thailand, the teaching part was tough and it was hot all the time. I asked to be transferred to the

northern regions where the hill tribes were. I needed something even more exotic. I was stationed on

the Laotian border in a village called Chieng Kham. The tribespeople would come into the

marketplace and I’d follow them back to their villages. I took photos on colour print film and mailed

the rolls back to my dad in Baltimore for processing. Then I’d go back to the villages and share the

prints.”

 

In 1965, after two years in the Peace Corps, Marty headed to Oxford University in England to do

post-graduate work in anthropology. Before leaving Thailand, she cashed in her plane ticket for an

alternative means of transportation and made an unbelievable journey: 16,000 miles across Asia by

motorcycle. "I started out by myself and at the southern tip of Thailand,” she recalls. ”I met a

Canadian guy, Alfred Menninga, who was also travelling by motorcycle and we decided to go

together. We took a small boat to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and drove north through India. From there,

we went up to Nepal for fun and continued through Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Then, we drove

through Russia, around the Black Sea, into Czechoslovakia, and across Europe to England."

 

At Oxford, Marty chose to study ethnology over social anthropology because it included the study of

artefacts as she’d developed a strong affinity for folk art and handmade items. "I was very interested

in tribal art and artefacts. At Oxford, Dr. K.O.L Burridge, impressed upon me that I shouldn’t isolate

the art from its culture,” Marty says. ”He taught me to look at things in their context. For instance, you

might admire a certain African woodcarving, but you’re applying your own western aesthetics to what

you’re looking at. What’s more important is that it might have been used in a fertility dance or maybe

it was only used once and destroyed. If it hadn’t been for Dr. Burridge, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m

doing today and I send him a card every Christmas to remind him of that fact." Although Marty felt

that the camera was an underused research tool, she was repeatedly told that no job description

existed for her interests. Nevertheless, she remained committed to finding ways of combining

anthropology and photography.

 

After receiving a diploma in ethnology from Oxford, Marty decided to pursue museum work as her

vocation. She returned to the States in 1967 and began working at the Smithsonian Institution in

Washington, D.C. From the Smithsonian, she went on to a position as a curatorial assistant at the

Yale University Museum. She found the work tedious, but was saved from the boredom when she

began dating Stewart Guthrie, an anthropologist who was doing his graduate work at Yale. The

following summer, Marty took an internship at National Geographic magazine. When her internship

ended, she and Stewart married and Stewart’s fieldwork took him to Japan, where the couple lived

from 1969 to 1971. (They have since divorced.)

 

After returning from Japan, Marty and Stewart took up residence in North Kingston, Rhode Island,

where Marty took a job as a staff photographer for the Narragansett Times, but her sights were still

set on New York City. Two years later, the opportunity Marty had been looking for finally came her

way. She was offered a job as a staff photographer for the New York Post. "I was thrilled when I got

the offer from the Post,” she says. ”The new photo editor was Susan Welchman—a dynamic,

wonderful woman. She took a look around and realised that there weren’t any women on the staff

and rectified that situation right away."

 

The Post’s offices were located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Often at the end of the day, on her

way back to the Post, Marty would cruise through the neighbourhood and photograph kids at play.

One day, she met a youngster named Edwin who drastically changed the direction of Marty’s work

and life. At the time, she was beginning to successfully merge ethnology and photography—the

realisation of a long-time ambition. But Martha Cooper’s earliest forays into photographing graffiti

occurred entirely by chance.

 

Edwin told Marty that he liked to do graffiti. He said his tag name was HE 3 and he asked Marty if

she’d ever photographed graffiti. "Up until that day I had never focused on graffiti. I hadn’t thought

that much about it. I saw it, but I had no idea what it said. I didn’t even realise that kids were writing

their nicknames,” she says. Edwin and his graffiti writing fit in with the shots of kids at play that Marty

was compiling. When Edwin asked her if she was interested in meeting a ”graffiti king,” Marty wasn’t

sure what that meant. Was there royalty? She was intrigued. They jumped into her car and Edwin

directed them deep into Brooklyn’s East New York section, to the home of a well-known and highly

respected graffiti artist named DONDI.

 

DONDI and Marty became friends and over a period of years beginning in 1979, DONDI served as

Marty’s official guide to the graffiti subculture. Through their association, Marty gained precious

insight to the inner workings of the underground movement. Up until this point, graffiti had occupied

background space both in her consciousness and in her photos. But A.D. (After DONDI), all that

changed. Graffiti gained a new position—front and centre—in her work and in her life.

 

"Because of shooting graffiti, I happened to be standing at the epicentre

of an emerging youth culture that would become known as Hip Hop.

Luckily, I had the sense to keep my finger on the shutter." Martha

Cooper

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Sample text from the book—to be used editorial only in

conjunction with a book review or a feature about HIP

HOP FILES.

 

HIP HOP:

GRANDMASTER CAZ: Hip Hop was born in the South Bronx in New York City. The basic motivation

for Hip Hop is self-expression. It doesn’t cost anything. It was free. I sometimes miss the times back

in the days; because it were times that we're never gonna recapture. Whenever something is at its

essence and beginning, it is pure. There are no special additives to make it marketable or sellable to

other people’s taste. You are doing it for yourself. We are way past that point right now!”

 

DURO: Marty truly understood us and she knew how important it was to document the movement. It

was the beginning of what turned out to be Hip Hop!

 

 

01: WRITING:

CRIME 79: The essence of graffiti is bombing—just go and do it! I didn’t even take pictures in the

beginning. I wrote just to see my stuff up there. I didn’t even care if anybody else saw it. No one was

taking pictures of it, we just did it.

 

MARTHA COOPER: I consider myself a documentary photographer. When I first started shooting

graffiti, I wanted to see more than just pieces on a train. I wanted to photograph the art in the context

of the urban environment. I looked for different backgrounds and landscapes to capture the spirit and

the flavour of the times and the city.

 

BAN 2: When I look at Marty’s pictures, I definitely have a back-in-the-day feeling. That’s when we

had our trains, that’s when we had something to look forward to, you know, just a rush to go and do

pieces. I’m 40-years-old and, due to the fact that I’m not writing anymore, I must say I miss it. It’s

awful, but I don’t see anything bad in this. Writing gave kids something as far as branching out,

meeting people. There is no racism in graffiti because we're all brothers and sisters through the

paint.

 

MARTHA COOPER: When I began trying to catch graffiti on trains in 1980, the South Bronx was a

wasteland. Shops were shuttered, buildings were boarded-up, and there were entire blocks of vacant

lots. Few people walked the streets. Except for the sounds of the subway, the place was eerily quiet,

abandoned.

 

DEZ aka DJ-KAY SLAY: Me and Martha Cooper was cool. Henry Chalfant introduced us to her. She

used to take pictures of mad graffiti pieces and shit and, even though she was a female, she would

come in the motherfucking yard, word up! I remember the cops was coming or the train was pulling

out and she was running with us with her camera, her bag, and all that shit. She was holding it down.

When Marty came with us to the 3 yard, I thought, ”Yo, this is gangsta!” We all had so much respect

for her. I would know guys in the hood that wouldn’t ever do what she did. We had a white lady with a

knapsack in the fuckin’ 3 yard taking pictures. The whole shit was hot!

 

MARTHA COOPER: The yards were playgrounds for the kids. They ran across the tracks, between

cars, and on top of trains. They could swing from the straps, ride on top of the train, or lie on the

electrified third rail. They owned the cars, they owned the stations, they felt comfortable.”

 

DAZE: Martha was really hanging out with us a lot. At that time, we were in the 3 yard all the time. I

mean, like, 24/7. So we decided to invite Martha to come with us to the 3 yard. She was great! She

was climbing up on top of the trains, taking pictures from there looking down. She was climbing all

around, you know, like standing on the third rail taking photos.

 

MARTHA COOPER: I think the energy in illegal graffiti was unmatched in the legal paintings.

Stealing the paint, sneaking into the yards, and working under a one-night deadline all added to the

level of excitement and spontaneity, which made the resulting work much more interesting to me.

Maybe that’s my defence of vandalism. The hurdles that the writers had to cross in order to do their

art were astounding. It wasn’t only the fear. When we went to the yards, there wasn’t so much fear

as excitement and energy with fear mixed in.

 

 

02: BREAKING:

SALLY BANES: When I first asked kids what breaking meant, they told me, ”It’s when you go crazy

on the floor.”

 

DOZE: Breaking, otherwise known as b-boying, is a competitive, warlike dance making the opponent

look bad.

 

MR. FREEZE: All I can say is that if it wasn’t for Martha Cooper, our culture would not have been

captured in its purest form. Thank God for Martha’s dedication, for her love of our culture.

 

FROSTY FREEZE: For the b-boys, it was just about hearing the music. Somebody would come and

say, ”There's a jam in the park!” The only thing that could stop us was the rain or the cops.

 

T-KID: A block party was when they got a permit from the city to throw a party. They got the

turntables. They closed off the street so nobody could come in. They'd hook up their system to a light

pole illegally and start throwing a jam. The old-timers would bring the Millers and the Budweiser and

the kids would be smoking weed. It was real, man. It was real!

 

JOE-JOE: Back in the days, when they used to argue and stuff like that, the aggression was taken to

the dance floor. You said, ”C'mon, let’s battle!”

 

FROSTY FREEZE: Real b-boying is outdoors. Doing it inside means being controlled, getting told

what to do, being on time, and so on.

 

 

03: DJs & MCs:

B-BOY ALIEN NESS: When Hip Hop started, it was all about the connection between the DJ and the

dancer. It was not necessarily the connection to the b-boys, just the connection to the dancers in

general. It was all about keeping that one break going to keep our groove on all night. Hip Hop was

all about the music and the dance.

 

DJ TONY TONE: Many people think that Hip Hop started when records started being made. No, it

was a couple of years before records started coming out. So I wanna throw my hands up to KOOL

HERC, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, and GRANDMASTER FLASH.

 

EASY AD: Hip Hop, to me, represents many different things. It represents culture, it represents

growth, it represents knowledge, and it represents freedom.

 

GRANDMASTER CAZ: MCing is the language of Hip Hop culture. This is how we communicate with

each other; this is how I let someone in Holland know what is going on over here in the Bronx. This is

how someone in France lets someone in Germany know how they are living and what their

conditions are and what they are about. Our tool of communication with each other is the music.

 

 

05: DOWNTOWN:

MARTHA COOPER: Artists, filmmakers, and photographers were instrumental in bringing early Hip

Hop downtown and incorporating it into the existing, if offbeat, fashionable scene. These people,

along with academics and journalists, connected the music with the art (graffiti) and dance

(breaking)—something that might not have happened on its own.

 

DOZE: The fact that Hip Hop blew up was probably due to FAB 5 FREDDY, Henry Chalfant, Martha

Cooper, Patti Astor, and Ruza Blue. Those people brought uptown downtown.

 

CHARLIE AHEARN: Negril was the first regular Hip Hop spot downtown. It was so hot. Bronx

legends mixing with rock stars and b-boys all in one tiny place.

 

KOOL DJ RED ALERT: By the time we got to the Roxy, we used to average about 3,500 people

every Friday night. All different nationalities and cultures. We exchanged our sounds with all different

kinds of music. From there, I had a chance to get on the radio and that's what I've been doing for the

last 20 years.

 

MARTHA COOPER: We were attracted to the energy and novelty of Hip Hop. None of us foresaw

the ”going global” part. In fact, I thought I was photographing something unique to New York City.

 

 

05: GALLERIES:

REVOLT: There were a lot of people that were a little stodgy, mostly established artists and the

whole art collector community. They were repelled. I think the galleries that were popping up were

more excited and more into it because they were looking for something new. They were tired of all

the old shit. It was the freshest thing out there and it was right in your face. Everybody was a graffiti

artist.

 

DAZE: At the same time, there were a lot of art shows that were happening in clubs, too—just one-

night events where people brought paintings down to a big party where somebody was DJing. It is

funny when you think about that whole era. I never thought I'd be looking back at it nostalgically. A lot

happened in a really short space of time. When you really talk about that particular scene, you are

only talking about a few years. Three years, maybe four at the most. But a lot happened in those

years.

 

MARTHA COOPER: The writers were celebrities, but they were still doing what they always did,

passing around their piecebooks and signing them for each other. These art openings in the summer

used to spill out onto the street. Fun Gallery openings were an amazing scene. Crowds of people

would show up and the streets were packed.

 

 

06: MEDIA:

MARTHA COOPER: The early movies and downtown clubs presented Hip Hop as a single unit

combining rapping (music), breaking (dance), and graffiti (art). Since head-spins and spray cans

were more photogenic than a guy with a microphone, this packaged version instantly appealed to the

media largely because of the visuals. In fact, these three elements overlapped, but they weren't

intertwined. Graffiti and breaking became sort of rocket launchers for the music, propelling rap to the

moon before veering off to other galaxies.

 

FROSTY FREEZE: If there had not been people like Henry or Martha and their work, we never would

have become known.”

 

PATTI ASTOR: What’s great about Marty is that she was always there but never obtrusive. I can

picture her now in her jeans and sneakers, all loaded down with cameras and film, always smiling,

always ready to go.

 

SHARP: Many of the people who write in Europe started because they saw the WILD STYLE poster

or the movie that went around the world. I just thought it was cool that I was dealing with something

that was that important for the evolution of our culture and our movement.

 

REVOLT: BEAT STREET was a classic example of the Hollywood appropriation, exploitation, and

homogenisation of the culture. They tried to sanitise it for middle-America.

 

MICHAEL HOLMAN: Hip Hop has come a long way from small venues on off-nights in downtown

Manhattan to nationally syndicated television and world-wide media exposure.

 

GRANDMASTER CAZ: When RUN DMC came out, they really took Hip Hop back to its bare

essence: beats, rhymes, some Adidas, a hat, and just turned that into a whole phenomenon.

 

 

07: STYLE:

BOBBITO: I don’t think anyone could define style back in the days because the style was to define

style. There was a parameter that we all stayed in, but essentially, the drive was to be unique.

Everyone had their different flavour that they brought to the table.

 

BOBBITO: All throughout Hip Hop style, you're seeing a lot of customising, you're seeing a lot of

accessories, you're seeing a lot of style. But all in the absence of money and the absence of

availability and accessibility.

 

MICHAEL HOLMAN : I believe ski fashion was important to Hip Hop fashion because it looked

futuristic and functional. The future represented promise for inner-city kids who saw the past as a

time of oppression. The future is a time for sharpness, clarity, and control.

 

 

FROM HERE TO FAME

COLOGNE – NEW YORK – PARIS – STOCKHOLM

 

FROM HERE TO FAME Publishing is a young, motivated venture run by Hip Hop

individualists in collaboration with other independent publishers around the globe,

who focus on Hip Hop culture. We connect a diverse group of experts including

artists, journalists, authors, and anthropologists who, from their different

perspectives, have observed and participated in the development of Hip Hop.

 

FROM HERE TO FAME Publishing envisions the foundation of a Hip Hop

museum and cultural centre. We want to communicate the history, evolution, and

influence of Hip Hop culture on our society,

especially to the younger generations.

Our motto is:

 

KNOW YOUR HISTORY!

 

An ambitious project like a museum can only be realised with the support of

cultural departments and government, and with the help of dedicated people from

the Hip Hop community, students, supporters, and sponsors. Hip Hop Files is the

first of many books and projects to come. More will follow and help to pave the

way to realise our vision.

 

FEEL FREE TO JOIN US!

 

 

For any questions or needed material contact us at:

 

From Here To Fame Publishing

Vitalisstraße 379 a

50933 Cologne

Germany

0049-(0)-221-202 35 31

promo@mzee.com

www.fromheretofame.com

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