Janette Beckman has spent decades photographing the great and good of London and New York.  One of the most influential photographers of the punk era, she’s worked for the likes of The Face, Melody Maker, Vogue, Rolling Stone and The Times. A Self-Described documentary photographer her incredible work has been brought together in ‘The Janette Beckman Newspaper’, a limited edition, 24 page collection of black and white work featuring street scenes, poseurs, hip hop kids and a selection of stances.

Find it at Arkitip.

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XXL look back on Hip-hop’s association with Ralph Lauren with an oral history. Including several famed ‘Lo heads, including Thirstin Howl III, Just Blaze, Raekwon and 88 Keys – the latter some might recognize from a Details video about his Ralph obsession. They’ve even managed to fit in our favourite video blogger, Mr Jose Hustle. The article traces the start of Ralph mania in the hip hop community and just why the brand still resonates with that crowd today. Get a feel for the piece by this Just Blaze quote:

“Just Blaze: It’s more than just a brand… It’s the way you carry yourself. The way you walk, the way you talk, the kind of places you frequent. Ralph is from [New York City], he’s not from the country but he had this whole ideology. I remember he said once, “I designed this line behind the lifestyle I wished I could live. I didn’t have all of this when I was growing up, these are the things that I love.” At the same token, I’m not out riding horses; I’m not out at the country club. But a lot of those same ideologies and those same motifs are the things that I love in terms of a standard of living. The way you present yourself to the outside world. There’s a certain level or certain standard that kind of comes along with that lifestyle.”

Read the rest over at XXL.

Black Noise, the first book by Brown University professor Tricia Rose, is perhaps the most important early study of hip hop culture. The work spawned a series of collected essays assessing hip hop in specific geographic locations, and remains the keynote text in the growing hip hop studies cannon. In her new book, The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop–and Why It Matters
Rose calls for a rejuvenation of the pioneering cultural feeling of hip hop. A move away from the ubiquitous image of corporately pushed rap music. Whether this effort will galvanize other scholars with the same force as Black Noise remains to be seen, what’s certain is that Rose has presented both sides of the argument with skill and intellectual vigor.

Available now from Basic Civitas Books and (of course) Amazon
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