Sophie's work document all four of hip-hop’s elements: deejays (including Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Afrika Islam, D.St, Jazzy Jay and Red Alert), emcees (including Grandmaster Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, Lisa Lee, the Fat Boys, Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys), graffiti artists (including Dondi, Futura, Zephyr, and Lady Pink), and breakdancers (including members of Magnificent Force, Dynamic Breakers, and the Rock Steady Crew). Sophie also chronicled the young fans then embracing hip-hop, the older authority figures wh disdained it, crucial players behind the scenes players (including record producers like Bill Laswell, Bernard Zekri, and Rick Rubin, and the art gallery owner Patti Astor, co-founder of the Fun Gallery), and notable establishment figures who early on made common cause with the hip-hoppers (including Herbie Hancock and Harry Belafonte).
And now, 40 years later, we have "Yo!", the first deep dive into this extraordinary body of work. It's late, but it's not too late. We'll take it.
Excerpt from Bill Adler's introduction to Yo!
And now, 40 years later, we have "Yo!", the first deep dive into this extraordinary body of work. It's late, but it's not too late. We'll take it.
Excerpt from Bill Adler's introduction to Yo!
