Sue Kwon didn't set out to chronicle the evolution of hip-hop. In the late 1980s, Kwon, who had grown up in Connecticut and studied photography at New York University, was living in lower Manhattan. For a while, she wanted to become a war photographer, but the birth of her eldest son, Kainoa, changed that calculus.
She also became immersed in the city's blossoming second-wave hip-hop scene, going to shows around the city. At the time, New York was teeming with new acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Mobb Deep, and Wu-Tang Clan, with a powerful group of female MCs like Roxanne Shanté and Salt-N-Pepa taking the mic. Kwon began to document it all, scoring assignments for The Village Voice and The Source.
But what she captured wasn't just the explosive energy of a musical genre finding its footing-it was a culture coming of age. There's an intimacy and immediacy in Kwon's images that somehow managed to bottle the creativity, community, camaraderie, and joy that have always been at the center of hip-hop. There are the members of De La Soul crammed into the back of a car. There's Yo-Yo enjoying a Popsicle on a playground. There's a young Pharrell, with his turn-of-the-century outfit N.E.R.D, toiling away in a studio, dreaming up new things.
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ALL Aboard
LUXURY TRAINS offer a uniquely NOSTALGIC way to SLOW DOWN and ENJOY the RIDE
Keep It MOVING
COMMUTER-CORE has become more than a VIRAL TREND, as designers meet the NEEDS of our BACK-to-OFFICE lifestyles
MEMENTO Mori
JEWELRY can be deeply PERSONAL. LEAH CHERNIKOFF reflects on a NECKLACE that represents LIFE and LOSS.
IN CONVERSATION - JESSICA LANGE and PAULA VOGEL
Actor JESSICA LANGE and playwright PAULA VOGEL on their new BROADWAY PRODUCTION, MOTHER PLAY, creating and portraying COMPLICATED WOMEN, and the FUTURE of THEATER
What PADMA Wants
After almost two decades of TOP CHEF, the beloved HOST and cookbook AUTHOR is figuring out WHAT COMES NEXT
The AUDACITY of LORRAINE O'GRADY
At 89, the eternally PUNK-ROCK PERFORMANCE and CONCEPTUAL ARTIST still gets a kick out of CRASHING art-world parties. Only now she's the GUEST of HONOR.
REGINA'S Resolve
REGINA KING on LEARNING to LIVE with LOSS, the LEGACY of SHIRLEY CHISHOLM, and finding a WAY FORWARD
GUIDO Palau
Over the past three decades, GUIDO PALAU has SHAPED how the WORLD perceives HAIR, with his STYLES seen at Givenchy (1) and Valentino (4), among so many others. Now he's bringing ZARA HAIR to life. Here, the renowned artist lets us in on his CREATIVE PROCESS.
CAVE Dwelling
Accommodations nestled in natural or man-made GROTTOES provide an UNFORGETTABLE ESCAPE
What WOMEN Want
BEFORE THERE WAS \"quiet luxury,\" there was Donna Karan.