One of the reasons hip-hops inspire so much interest is because it’s one of the first few subcultures that has been able to document its entire existence in real time in multiple media including photography. Photographer Mel D. Cole has been following the music of hip-hop since 2002, working both independently and with prominent publications to document the careers of some of hip-hop’s biggest names, from Jay-Z, Eminem, and The Roots to Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Chance The Rapper. Now, the veteran shooter has compiled some of his most iconic shots into a visual book that he’s publishing independently with the help of a Kickstarter campaign.
With a $55,000 goal and 24 days to go as of now, the book, titled Great, is packed with some of rap’s most intimate and important moments of the last 20 years, including Beyonce’s historical 2018 Coachella performance and some of the first major exposure of blog rap’s biggest stars, has a foreword from The Roots’ Questlove, is hardcover bound, and comes complete with goodies for anyone willing to pay a little extra for the special edition, including a disposable camera, limited-edition postcards, and a clamshell case to keep it all in.
The book itself is priced at $75.00 per unit with different levels of backing available for the collector’s editions or just the postcards without the book. Check out more images below, and purchase the book here.
