Group portrait of various hip hop and rapping artists, from left (bottom row): Tony ‘Master T’ Young, Big Drew, and K Rock. Sitting upon Big Drew’s shoulders is MC Lyte, 1990. New York. (Photo by Janette Beckman/Getty Images) Photos Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery
When Janette Beckman learned the “New York Scratch and Rap Revue,” the first Hip Hop showcase in the UK was headed to London, she immediately offered to shoot it for Melody Maker. The year was 1982, and the culture was as fresh as the crease down the front of a pair of Lee jeans. The concert proved to be a turning point in Beckman’s life.
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“Everyone was on stage together at the same time: Afrika Bambaataa was on the turntables. Fab 5 Freddy was on the mic, DONDI and FUTURE were making a mural. The Rock Steady Crew was breakdancing. The Double Dutch girls did their thing,” Beckman says.
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“It was a Renaissance moment for me. I was used to people in leather jackets thrashing it out on stage and here were these people making art, music, poetry, and dance in this wild, crazy, creative thing.”
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The Ultramagnetic MCs pose outside on a New York city street, 1989. (Photo by Janette Beckman/Getty Images) Photos Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery