Mom and Dad
Me
Central State University, circa 2001
Paul Revere Elementary School, circa 1993
Columbus, Ohio, circa 2006
High Street, circa 2007
EPMD, 2008
Columbus, Ohio, circa 2007
Too Short, 2008
DMC, 2004
Photography is an amazing art form that has the power to elicit all kinds of emotions and conjure up memories, whether good or bad. In some cases, photos are snapped in what may appear to be meaningless moments that become more monumental over time. In every photo, we are capturing a moment in time that will never occur again – that seems to get lost in the shule of things. As the years go by, we have a tendency to forget the small details, it happens to the best of us. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to glance at a photo and instantly have everything come back to you. Sights, smells, sounds…all at the blink of an eye. It’s a beautiful thing. At a young age, I had a feeling that photography would end up being an important part of my life. I was obsessed with taking photos of my classmates and random things like my Hot Wheels cars or various urban landscapes. At some point during my awkward adolescence I went through a phase where I didn’t take too many photos from either side of the camera. I picked my hobby back up towards the second half of my senior year in John F. Kennedy High School as I began to realize the importance of preserving those memories. During my freshman year in undergrad, digital camera technology had just began to emerge as a useful tool. he irst digital camera I ever used was a Mavica that I borrowed from the A/V department of the library at Central State University. he photos were held on a 1.3 MB loppy disk. Nowadays, one picture is way larger than that! I began to notice that I enjoyed documenting things and as the years passed by, I started searching for something I could present and call my own. I’ve always had a connection with music, rap music to be more speciic. I wanted to be a rapper when I was a kid and found myself in several neighborhood groups with names like F.I.E., N.I.C. and so forth. F.I.E. stood for Fresh In Efect, while N.I.C. was short for Niggas In Control. My rap names were MC Tim (a derivative of the Tiny Tim nickname given to me by the older kids) and later DC, which stood for Devastating Chris. My memory gets a little cloudy when it comes to why I ended up out of the group, but those guys that lived next door to me secured a deal with Def Jam as a group called 116 Soljaz and even had a video called “All Day Everyday” in rotation on MTV and BET. I’m in the clip for a brief moment. In any case, I think two of the three guys (one for sure) got into some legal trouble and the album never materialized. I was taking photos back then with disposable cameras. A few times, I would try to take snapshots of schoolyard performances but they never came out right. Many years later, I found myself at a show in a small bar on the north side of Columbus, Ohio and a young lightskinned lady took to the stage wearing a peacoat and a headwrap. Including me, there may have been a total of eight people sitting in the audience, but she put a total efort into her performance. At that moment, as I sat in the far right corner of the venue, I had two ideas. One of them was to document artists as they go through their daily lives and the other idea was to document artists within their element. he latter of the two forms the foundation for most of this book. Although I’m from Cleveland, I called Columbus home from 2005 through the beginning of 2013. I made plenty of connections there and it’s where I began my creative journey on a professional level when it comes to both my photography and writing. I used to have my own website where I would write about music in the area. I would venture to a few small clubs and write recaps of the shows. I was using a point-and-shoot camera at the time, but when I decided that I wanted to capture better images, I moved up to a DSLR. At these shows, I saw more people putting time and money into their craft and I felt like I needed to be doing more to display it to the rest of the world, so that’s what I tried to do. he images in this book mostly span a four year period from 2009 through 2012 and only represent a small sliver of the talent in the city of Columbus. It’s an honest look at both the artists that make the scene what it is and also what kinds of artists the scene attracts. Compiling these images was a labor of love. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did capturing them.
Press Play
In 2009, I began writing for RapReviews. his was a natural progression from the writing I was doing on my own blog. Other events that shaped up the year were the death of Michael Jackson and my irst trip to the Ohio Hip Hop Awards. Also during the year, I was formally introduced to Sinatra, Trek Manifest and Searius Add of Exec Gang. A friend of mine, custom shoe designer Lauren Luna recruited me as her personal photographer when she went to a Raekwon show to deliver custom Nikes for him and Noreaga.
All My Words Pass he Margin
Review of Bushwick Bill’s Phantom of the Rapra
Rest In Peace, Michael
Imitation Is he Most Sincerest Form Of Flattery
he Jazz Man
Jammin’ In he Street
Capone
Taneal
Breakin’, 2009 Ohio Hip Hop Awards
2009 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Red Carpet
BOSS Magazine
Machine Gun Kelly & Slim Gudz
Charity Luv
Me
One Night Only
Hands In he Air
gg
Shallah Raekwon
Elevator Music at the Ohio Hip Hop Awards
Illogic
Blueprint
Rare Kommodity
Searius Add
Taneal
SupaNatra
Art Gallery Opening at Urban Spirit Cafe Loft
DJ Bern
Trek Manifest
Shawnie
LikeBlood
he Anticipation Builds
Queen YoNasDa
ComFest, 2009
Ohio Hip Hop Awards, 2009
Ghostface Killah
Raekwon
Ghostface Killah
Backstage With Raekwon & Lauren Luna
Taneal
Taneal
PNOTY & Capone
Lauren Luna & Queen YoNasDa
Raekwon Holding A Lauren Luna Custom Designed Sneaker
Lauren Luna
Red Carpet Shenanigans
Just A Reminder
TGP
Searius Add
In 2010, I started to get a little bit more recognition and access to venues in the city. here were a few beneit shows that raised funds for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. I worked a few industry events and did my best to continue to build connections whenever if at all possible. I had a major setback in July of that year that sent me into a deep, dark hole of depression that I wouldn’t really be able to shake for several months.
Devin the Dude
Fly Union Performs At Hope For Haiti Beneit Concert
Two Turntables
Trek Manifest
Eye Candy
Chip he Ripper aka King Chip
Standing Room Only
An Energetic Crowd
Barbara Fant
Carlotta Penn
SupaNatra
DJ 100 Percent
Searius Add
Trek Manifest
Ladies at ExecGang Press Conference
Kimberly Elise
Rhilly Verse
2010 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Media Room
J. Osceola & J.G. the Jugganaut
J.G. the Jugganaut
J. Osceola
Not So Humble
Donna Marbury & Brandon “B-Jazz” Scott of Liquid Crystal Project
A.U.
Fly Union
he 3rd
PA Flex
Tight Security
Co City
614 Haiti Beneit Concert
J. Osceola
Rough Love
PA Flex of he 3rd
Blueprint
P. Blackk
J. Osceola & BeShayBe
Major Money Moves
Hands In he Air
Jay Electronica
Devin he Dude
Diversity
Blueprint
Unity
Zero Star
2010 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Red Carpet
Pretty In Pink
Richmon Assassin
Trav Dave
Lady Rerun
Trav Dave, Chris Unruly & Te’Mo
OHHA Red Carpet
Machine Gun Kelly
Big Hef, Ohio Hip Hop Awards Co-Founder
Patiently Waiting
Dj Lyte-N-Rod & Bizzy Bone
Big Hef’s Industry Tour Stop In Columbus
K.I.D. of Beat Gang
Te’Mo of One Hood
Big Hef’s Industry Tour Stop at Icon & WUGR Radio
Taneal
Kim Joyce
Krate Digga & Dommy Styles
Blue Man Group
Self-Explanatory
Meechie Nelson
Illogic
Lee Debonair
Ashly Delicia of FlyPaper & Bizzy Bone
Dommy Styles
Da Kennel at WUGR Radio
Relax And Take Notes
In 2011, I inally re-emerged back onto the scene almost halfway through the year, photographing Big K.R.I.T.’s show at Skully’s Music Diner along with some Ohio Hip Hop Awards showcases. he biggest event for me that year was Summer Jam 614. Most of the city’s biggest acts performed on the big outdoor stage under the tent, while others performed inside of Icon Lounge. Rain and lightning near the end of the show brought a premature halt to an otherwise impressive show. I went to my third consecutive Ohio Hip Hop Awards show, but this time I was a nominee in the newly created Best Photographer category as the show made it’s irst trip into Columbus. I didn’t win, but it was an honor to be nominated.
Big K.R.I.T.
Searius Add
Meechie Nelson
Tupac Shakur 40th Birthday Celebration
Supanatra
Donovan Beats
Rikk Reighn
Rhilly Verse
M. Michelle
BeShayBe & Matt Tucker
Hodgie Street
Submuloc
Big K.R.I.T.
Khil Datta
C-10 of Omnibreed
Big Sant
Chris Unruly
Fired Up
America’s Team
Izzrael
Happy Birthday Tupac
Flam Feeva
Smiling Faces
A.U.
Meechie Nelson
Submuloc
Tupac Birthday Celebration
Dommy Styles & BeShayBe
Regal of FHSP
Kaine of FHSP
Catalyst
P. Blackk
Snow, Supanatra & Searius Add
Rob Riley of Liquid Crystal Project
Renee Dion
Ella Starr
Ella Starr
Renee Dion
Lee Debonair
Rashad
Trek Manifest
L.e. for the Uncool aka King Vada
Hodgie Street
J. Osceola
Blacksmith of he 3rd
James John
FHSP at the 2011 Ohio Hip Hop Awards
2011 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Red Carpet
Machine Gun Kelly
Lace Up!
Just Doing His Job
Krayzie Bone
Ali Kidd, J.G. the Jugganaut & Kendra Latham
Searius Add, Tiyana Payne & Dominique Larue
Dommy Styles
DJ Con Artist
MixMaster Ice
J. Rawls
Dommy Styles
he Dobe
Ro ha Realest
Reese
BeShayBe
Rich NYCe
Ali Kidd & Kendra Latham
Zero Star
DJ Topspeed
DJ Topspeed
Pause!
Big Hef & DJ Kornbread
DJ Mr. King
Donna Marbury
J. Rawls & DJ Topspeed
Krate Digga
Renee Dion
Dominique Larue
Catalyst
Co City of he 3rd
hemidas Touch
Copywrite
It’s he Alliance, Suckas!
Peter hadar
Nikki Leigh of We Bleed Hip Hop
Rhilly Verse & Nikki Leigh
Co City
DJ O-Sharp
he Alliance DJs
MixMaster Ice & Rhilly Verse
Supporters
Khil Datta
DJ Prospect
Catalyst
he Dance
he ReDo One Year Anniversary Party
DJ Mr. King
Renee Dion
Copywrite
Ohio Hip Hop Awards
Stupid Dope Moves
Co City
Trek Manifest
Khil Datta
J. Osceola
B. Yonest
P. Blackk
Friendly Face In he Crowd
Slim Jim
Searius Add
Rikk Reighn
Tupac Shakur 40th Birthday Party
Big K.R.I.T.
Pay-Per-Flave
Summer Jam 614
Ella Starr
Forest & he Evergreens
In 2012, another nomination came and went. I found myself shooting smaller, more intimate venues. R&B and rock shows were new to me, but interesting. I even became more active with shooting at poetry events. he intimate places often make for better shots. I move around more frequently and also ind that I can be a bit more creative with the angles I shoot from. Also during this year, I had the opportunity to shoot my irst album cover, which was a very gratifying experience. hrough it all, I realized that what I enjoy most is documenting people and things in their purest form. I cover weddings, birthday parties, family portraits and all other kinds of occasions and I always try to work that into my work. I put my all into this project. he artists gave their all in being there for me to even photograph them, so it’s the least that I can do.
Steve Lobel
J.G. he Jugganaut
SKIN
Dominique Larue
Peter Hadar
Brandon Madry
Lolah Brown
Forest & he Evergreens
Dominique Larue
J.G. he Jugganaut, Angela Smith & Searius Add
DJ Suspence
DJ Prospect
Audio Engine
Frank Benji
Pay-Per-Flave
Qnemisis
Jericho Foster
Bloodshot
Bloodshot
Rikk Reighn
Raindrop
M-Dot. Black Child, Kane-O & Big Buisiness
Jai Carey
iPhonic
DJ Steph Floss
Audio Engine
Misty Jordan
Searius Add
Izetta Nicole
Sheddin’
Open Mic at Zanzibar
A.U.
Mansield. Ohio
Kane-O
Tiyana Payne
Forest & he Evergreens
Big Bro GT
Black Child
Mike Brown of Bedroc
DJ Prospect
J. Eawls
2011 Ohio Hip Hop Awards Closing Act
Big Business
Kaine & Jai Carey
Fresh Doe Club at SKIN
FHSP at Carabar
Hanif Abdurraqib
Jay Mel
Dominique Larue
Jericho Foster
Grant Gatsby
AJ & Dominique Larue
he Dobe
Ill Poetic
Mike Twice of Forest & he Evergreens
Krayzie Bone
Searius Add
Pay-Per-Flave
Sheddin’
Bloodshot
Terisa Rue
Black Child & Sayzar
Copywrite
Marquita Williams
Where It All Began...Nelson Avenue
hank You