Last night we celebrated 100 years of Black History Month, honoring the stories, contributions, and leadership of our Black community.
Our new photo installation, Brooklyn’s Finest: Legends, is a tribute to Brooklyn’s Hip-Hop legends and the photographers who captured iconic moments. It was especially meaningful to honor two of Brooklyn’s powerhouses: Jamel Shabazz @jamelshabazz and Fab 5 Freddy @fab5freddy .
Brooklyn’s Finest: Legends is now on view at Brooklyn Borough Hall through February 28, Mondays-Fridays, 9:00am - 4:30pm. Special thank you to @graphichouse@respectthemag and @datwon for making this all possible.
To be associate editor of SLAM magazine at age 23 was one thing — an incredible thrill and a job I felt lucky to have (thank you, DP and Tony G.!), but one that I also felt I’d worked toward, having treated basketball fandom as a part-time job since I was 10 years old and having been paid to cover the sport for several years already. I’d also read SLAM since its very first issue dropped in 1994. But to inherit the same title at XXL — a rising hip-hop publication suddenly led by a gifted leader in the space, Sheena Lester — felt like a true gift. I was a basketball journalist but still very much a hip-hop fan. In a way, though, one prepared me for the other. As the XXL staff prepared for the Great Day and began to track who was going to show up on 126th Street, excitement mounted. Slick Rick is going to be there? Scarface?! Tribe?! The freakin’ Wu-Tang Clan?! I was going to be in the presence of artists I’d bumped in dorm rooms and cars, seen in concerts but never been, you know, face to face with. But I had my SLAM experience to lean on. SLAM had already sent me to numerous games to do countless interviews — I had even been in the Chicago Bulls’ locker room during the ’98 NBA Finals a couple months earlier. So I had learned … no autographs. No geeking out. Keep it professional! So when September 29 rolled around, and interacting with these amazing rappers face to face was my job — literally, Datwon Thomas and I were tasked with shooting Polaroids and getting signed releases from every single artist who came through — I was able to keep my cool. Except when Rakim showed up..
— @bosborne17
More From Ben Osborne:
“I found these negatives of these photos years after taking them and barely remember just how vibrant the colors were that afternoon. Of course I remember the day, and I know I played a big role — that day and especially producing the issue — but to see this personal photo I took when my work was done, years after the fact, is an incredibly strong reminder that I was right there. Gives me goosebumps, to be honest.” #thegreatestdayinhiphophistory #xxlmag #rakim #slickrick #shaq #biggipp #hiphophistory #hiphopphotography #gordonparks #slam #tribcalledquest
"Hip-Hop's Greatest Day" installatiom is coming soon to NYC thanks tiche Office of the Mayor and the Department of Cultural Affairs! Stsy tuned for how you cam book a free tour. Also we will be releasokg never before sold rare promts of brhind-the-scenes from the "Hip-Hop's Greatest Day Archive" — exclusively on @NTWRK.These signed and numbered limited editoon photos by myself, Ben
Osborne amd Gordon Parks' former business manager amd personal photographer, Johanna Fiore, have never been made available. Stay tuned for more imfo! #hiphopphotography #thegreatestdayinhiphophistory
#hiphopsgreatestday #agreatdayinhiphop
#harlem #nychistory #hiphophistory #xx|magazine #respectmag
GAME RECOGNIZES GAME! RESPECT. is excited to share that its podcast series, "The Greatest Day: The Epic Story Behind Hip-Hop’s Most Iconic Photograph" was selected as one of @audible #bestoftheyear for 2023! Check out all of the winners! -- link in bio.
A Milestone Remembrance: 25 Years of 'The Greatest Day in Hip-Hop' (Post 1 of 2)
Last night, as @CBS News 'Prime Time' illuminated the 25th anniversary of "The Greatest Day in Hip-Hop," I was transported back to that iconic day in 1998. Watching Sheena Lester and Fat Joe reflect on the historic moment, coupled with seeing my photos on screen from September 29, 1998, was deeply evocative.
My Rolleiflex camera was my secret companion that day, loaded with film, ready to capture the behind-the-scenes history. But above all, it was the presence of Gordon Parks that remains most vivid. Sitting alongside him, observing a master at work, absorbing his silent yet profound insights—it was an unparalleled education. He sat there, drawing from his pipe, a picture of quiet authority, waiting all day to capture that perfect moment , even as the sun threatened to set and usurp the glory.
Twenty-five years have passed, but the memories remain vivid. From the innocent play of the boy on the street, unaware of the history that would later unfold around him, to the passionate exchanges between DJ Kool Herc, Slick Rick, Rakim, and the assembled artists—it was a myriad of extraordinary moments. While Gordon Parks' final photo is an emblem of that day, as the former Executive Publisher of XXL Magazine/xxlmag.com, my own captures, deeply influenced by his presence, are personal keepsakes of my odyssey in Hip-Hop journalism.
I'm honored to have curated the most extensive BTS photo archive from that day, which includes not only my own moments but also invaluable snapshots from Gordon Parks' protégé, Johanna Fiore as well as Ben Osborne. (Continued in post 2 of 2).
#thegreatestdayinhiphop #GordonParks #XXL #25Years #CBSPrimeTime #Audible #hiphop50
Celebration of Hip-Hop's Greatest Day—September 29, 1998—Gordon Parks photographed close to 200 rap legends on 126th St. in Harlem. Join Hip-Hop journalism legends @sheendawgydawg@datwon@bonsudreamz@almostcooldad and more! May 9th @fotografiska.newyork for a discussion about the icon hip-hop and jazz photos shoots shot on those magical stoops in Harlem. Moderated by @graphichouse@jrheingoldgallery Let's go! Buy tickets now before sell out! LINK IN BIO #hiphop #greatestday #rakim #slickrick #fatjoe #harlem #hiphoplegends
