Author Description

"In 1981, photographer Sophie Bramly moved from France to New York and for two years documented the Big Apple''s burgeoning hip-hop scene, taking pictures of graffiti artists, breakdancers and rappers such as the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC." - The Guardian "This wonderfully hefty photography title documents the early years of hip hop". - Record Culture "During the early 80s, on Saturday nights at the Roxy in downtown Manhattan and at the Bronx River Center, acts like Run-D.M.C., Afrika Bambaataa and Fab 5 Freddy created a totally new scene in New York. French photojournalist Sophie Bramly moved to New York in 1981, when she was just 21, and began photographing it all - when no one else was paying attention". - I-D 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, Grandmi