Most of you know the story how I became a photographer. In case you don’t: It’s all thanks to the Godmother of Hip Hop, Martha Cooper.
We started working together in 2002, when Marty was working with German Hip Hop Publisher Akim Walta of From Here To Fame on her Book Hip Hop Files. What? You don’t have that book? Well, go get it then! What are you waiting for?
Marty and I took an instant liking to each other. I admire the shit out of her! She has an amazing energy, a great and sunny personality, enjoys life to the fullest and is an incredible photographer.
Now you know I love to travel, and I DO travel a lot, but compared to Marty, I’m like a tree. She travels all over the planet, all year round. I have no idea how she does it.
What? You don’t know who Martha Cooper is? Well, look her up then! She’s the Godmother of Hip Hop. Many credit her with making Hip Hop go around the world. Together with Henry Chalfant, she published the first book about graffiti—Subway Art! The most stolen art book in history—writers got no $$ obviously…
She published the first article about breaking, in a German magazine of all places. But you can read that all in Hip Hop Files, so…
Frosty Freeze once told me that if it hadn’t been for Marty and Henry, there would be no B-Boying today. He said that when they met Marty and Henry and started working with them, breaking had almost died down. Everybody was into roller disco by then. But when Marty and Henry started documenting the Rock Steady Crew and they started blowing up in the media, all the other kids took up breaking again in the hopes they would also make it on TV.
When Martha Cooper bought a new Nikon D700 at the end of 2008 and gave me her D70, with the words, “I think you could be a good photographer, go and do something with it,” I was flabbergasted. She saw something in me that I hadn’t seen myself and she believed in me. That gave me all the energy I needed to start learning photography. Now, 8 years later, I’m on a plane to Morocco to shoot the Red Bull BC One Cypher there. All thanks to my friend Marty and I’ll be forever grateful!
She’s an amazing person and a great travel companion. It’s never boring with her and we enjoy the same things. Now, for the first time, we have an exhibition together, with French Hip Hop photographer Little Shao. The exhibition will go on till May 8. It’s at the amazing Art Space “Manufacture 111,” if you have a chance, go check it out. There will also be workshops, dance competitions and such. Check out the full program here: http://www.manufacture111.com/
When I travel with Marty, there are always lots of Urban adventures. Many writers, and street artists—like me—credit Marty with being responsible for their career path, so when they see on Marty’s ever active Instagram that the Queen is in town, https://www.instagram.com/marthacoopergram everybody offers to take her out. To check out some street art, view some roof top painting or go to the yard.
I learned a lot from Martha over the years. Not only about the technical aspects of photography, but also about dedication and respect. There are 3 things she taught me early on that I will always remember:
First: Do whatever it takes to get the shot!
You’re at an event and your view is blocked by too many people, find a different spot. I know, it’s hard sometimes, people won’t let you get through. That doesn’t matter. Especially if you are hired by the organizer, but also if you are one of the unpaid photographers of a Hip Hop culture event, people are counting on you! They are counting on you to make sure they get the best documentation possible. They might not have a big budget to pay you, maybe none at all, but if you agree to shoot their event, they rely on you and you owe it to them to give it your all. They are providing you with a great opportunity to document their event. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST! So get in there! Be respectful, apologize to everyone you have to squeeze by, but make sure you get the best spot! I got yelled at, threatened with violence, kicked in the shins, poked and prodded, but most of the time, I’m proud to say, I didn’t budge!
You’re scared of heights, but you know that climbing up that scaffolding would give you a great overview shot? Well, tough. Get your ass up there! Here’s a tip for you. I fought my fear of heights by driving to the Grand Canyon and staring into it for 4 days straight. Give your brain a chance to get used to heights. Skydiving also helped and was a lot of fun! :)
What if people don’t want you to take their photo? Well, that’s a little harder to decide. And is something you need to ask yourself. Do you want to be a respectful person or do you want to be a respected photographer? I sometimes can’t bring myself to shoot somebody who doesn’t want to be shot, that makes me a shitty street photographer. Check out Yoriyas from Morocco, he’s great at it! https://www.facebook.com/YoriyART/?fref=ts
I don’t think you should shoot everything though. If somebody is hit by a car right in front of you, I think it’s unethical to take his picture. This is not news! To me news is shooting dead people in a combat zone, to inform the public about what’s going on and show them the horrors of war.
Showing a plane from afar, that has been shot down: News. Publishing close ups of the people who died in the crash—in my opinion: unethical. But as I said, that’s something you have to decide in your own heart.
When you look at the Hip Hop Files, you can see the story of how Marty took the earliest known photos of breaking. She met some kids in a police station who had been arrested for rioting, but explained to Marty it had been some sort of dance battle, not a riot. If Marty had listened to the police officers and not shot those pictures, we wouldn’t have this wonderful historical document of the early days of Hip Hop, before it even had a name.
