New Morrison Hotel Gallery Exhibit Traces The Roots Of Rap Music

Hip-hop culture was not only defined by the artists who created the music but the photographers and filmmakers who were there to document the scene, chronicling its rise from underground subculture to the dominant cultural force it is today.

The roots of rap music, from The Bronx to Compton, and the artists that defined it are the subject of a new bi-coastal exhibit at The Morrison Hotel Gallery titled Hip Hop Nation, that will open on Thursday, August 25 in Los Angeles and New York City.

Both locations will feature a special opening reception and the New York exhibit will also feature the never-before-seen lenticular image of The Notorious B.I.G. by Barron Claiborne, the renowned music photographer who’s best known for his iconic image of Biggie wearing a crown.

Hip Hop Nation: Re-tracing the East Coast X West Coast (R)evolution explores the evolution of hip-hop through image, from Kool Herc breaking ground in the Bronx with MC soundsystem parties in the 1970s, to a young, blinged out Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg enveloped by a plume of smoke.

The exhibit features some of the most influential photographers of every era of hip-hop, from Geoffroy de Boismenu who captured 90s rap luminaries such as Public Enemy, Outkast, Biggie, and The Fugees to photography/filmmaker Jonathan Mannion who shot over 300 album covers working with hip hop and R&B performers including Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Nas, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar.

This exhibit will also feature work from important names like Timothy White, Cheryl Fox, Lynn Goldsmith, Travis Shinn, Clay Patrick McBride, and many others.

The opening reception in Los Angeles will be held on Thursday, August 25th at 1200 Alta Loma Rd, from 7-9 pm.

Morrison Hotel Gallery is the world’s leading brand in fine art music photography representing over 125 of the world’s finest music photographers and their archives.

RSVP at the gallery’s official website.