The Hip Hop Files

Black History never looked or sounded as good as the beginning of Hip Hop & Street Culture but now a days it has been used to make a lot of people money who didn't pay their dues (they were infants or not born yet) or acknowledge where it really came from, they're trying to associate it with skateboarding and surfing to some degree.humm weird?

this is such a fresh video damn i want to move to NYC

hello there, i love this documentary thank you so much for the documentation of those hip hop graffiti moments.Those pics actually inspire me to be the artist that i am today.

i love this, whenever i'm flipping channels and come across it on current i watch the whole thing--every time

this is real art!

Martha is great. One of the true early documentarians of Graff. Nice spot.

What are credits for the music in this pod?

Martha Cooper is a legend! Queen of urban photography cause you can't get any better than that! She's the reason I got into photography. I remember magazines like The Source and VIBE featured some of those same images. Brilliant piece.

this video is sick, i like how it showed the roots of hip hop, not a lot of people understand where it comes from, thus only seeing what is on TV and seeing the bad side of it

Saw this last night! I love this video.. her photography is an inspiration.

Awesome pod! I want to take a look at her book now. It's a culture who's past seems to be glossed over by the present day perception of the hip hop industry. Great presentation!

Great Video!

Long live Martha Cooper! and ya don't stop!

sick pod. this lady looks like my mom and she documented the begings of hip hop nice. also her shots were awesome.

also a random question can anyone tell me the name of the track playing in the new vangaurd add?

That was niffty! Graffiti and hip hop have both evolved artistically. Some of the graffiti of today and the hip-hop dancers are beyond words incredible! Ode to Martha Cooper, a true photo journalist!

Awesome pod. Thanks a lot.

Tom, that shit was awesome.

Awesome!!!! what happened to the end though>>> : /

It would be cool to hear from Edwin now. I wonder what he is up to.

Thanks for sharing this interesting docu.
It´s cool that she was already named MC...

COOLIO!

How interesting. Old school hip-hop was cool but I'm not too impressed with the crap I hear on the radio these days. While I'm ranting, can we draw an artistic line between the artful "graffiti" as displayed in this pod and the "tagging" crap that you see all over?

wow GREAT pod

that was good. I luv graffiti I do sum myself actually.. well I have a ntoebook I havent gone as far as sizin ma images up 2 human scale, but im workin on it. dis was very interesting to see. I hope more people make vids like this about wat tha hiphop/b-boy/graffitti culture is about.

You have to be pretty cool to get that close to the street.

Dope. Very Dope.

Moe, Thanks for your comment and for the kind words in your email to me. This pod was actually a test of an idea we had of doing a series of short documentaries on photographers who have managed to capture an era of our lifetime. The interview was done by Georgi Goldman, a current VC2 Creative Exec, and former New Yorker who reached out to her after seeing some of her work.

Would you like to see more pieces done like this?

yes yes y'all...really nice prop this morning on wooster collective mailer to !!!

the pod's ace - most people would be stoked at having documenting the early days of graf, let alone hip hop, AND b'boying...she's still so humble and insightful about the whole scene

met her last year - a true inspiration...for the cause not the cash...!

check out powerhouse in Dumbo NYC, they publish a load of books on the early 80's NY scene, and often have some cool exhibitions to support...

d

that's beautiful! martha coooper and henry chalfant captured an era in nyc that has reverberated throughout the entire world. she and others like them were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and have contributed greatly to bringing this artform to the notoriety it possesses to this day.

Great piece! Such a treat to see the images and hear the stories of the origin of the hip hop culture, and the media's early take on it.