Category Archives: Style

A 110 Kodak Instamatic was his weapon, the borough of Brooklyn his battleground. The year was 1975. Before the devastation brought on by widespread gun violence and the crack epidemic, Brooklyn was a cherished destination. Celebrated for its vibrancy and unapologetic grit, the city flourished throughout the mid ’70s, recognized for its diversity as a melting pot for a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

For photographer and street documentarian Jamel Shabazz, this eclectic and sometimes dangerous environment was home. Inspired to pursue photography when his father introduced him to the craft, Jamel turned the streets of Brooklyn into his canvas, his camera serving as an intermediary through which he could engage with his surrounding environment. Documenting the lives of the personalities that inhabited this vibrant terrain, Jamel’s subjects were the boys, girls, players, pimps, students and hustlers who also called Brooklyn home.

Looking back, Jamel’s work captures a seemingly effortless cool that permeated the streets and defined an era–the individuals immortalized in his photographs embody the confidence, pain, struggle and pride that gave birth to the hip-hop generation.

Today, Jamel is recognized as a seminal figure in the evolution of hip-hop culture on the whole, his photographs offering a captivating glimpse into a time period unlike any other. Forever dedicated to telling the stories of his subjects through his images, to the world he may be known as a photographer–but to those that stood before his lens, perhaps Jamel Shabazz might be better described as a hero. In our brief dialogue, Jamel lent insight into a number of topics, from the origins of “cool”, to the role instincts play in photography, to the impact of the crack cocaine epidemic on his community. Throughout, Jamel was thoughtful and warm, eager to share his work and wisdom with a new generation of creatives.