My work is based on the hip hop community of Delhi. Hip-hop began as a cultural movement in the streets of New York during the 1970’s . Much more diverse than what the media today perceives it to be, hip-hop is expressed through a variety of artistic and cultural mediums, including, but not limited to, music, dance, graffiti, and fashion. Of the various art forms expressed through hip-hop culture, hip-hop music began to develop as a local underground art form, with lyrics that spoke out on urban poverty, racism, and a growing sense of economic abandonment in African-American inner city neighborhoods.
Thus, hip-hop became a voice for African-American youth, who saw it as a way to express the social, economic and political realities of their lives. Essentially, rather than a simple hobby or a pastime, hip-hop is a lifestyle. Through this lifestyle, specifically rap in the beginning, African-American youth were able to express themselves by voicing their experiences as an oppressed minority in the urban ghettos of America. Because of this, hip-hop became a vehicle of expression that represented self-expression, individuality, and defiance. Although this representation largely applied to the African-American experience at first, hip-hop’s influence would soon extend globally, playing a crucial role in establishing youth identity.
I spent my last week with these young rappers from Delhi. For few days I was observing how they are and tried to adept this lifestyle, after talking to many of them I released everyone of them have their own stories so I asked them why they choose hip hop and their struggles as a hip-hop artist and based my pictures on that. Because of Diwali most of them were busy so I connected with them through Instagram. I explained them about my project and there is a huge community of rappers in Delhi, there are battle rappers and rappers who are producing songs low key.
In India hip hop and rap music have a different image people think hip hop means drugs, girls, and money but they are making songs on their life’s they just want an identity they want their voices to be heard so they all agreed. In the beginning I was confused with the narrative so I built the narrative around their own stories, I’m using the screenshots of there texts.
Most of the times they were in the studio so I had to work with higher ISO but later I stared using external flash.
This assignment was a detox for me, hip hop has a influence on my life too but I was never into this culture but now being with them knowing their ideologies and beliefs made an impact on me I guess now I can say that I’m into this culture. Spending time with them made me realize that they are not same as any other teen, most of them are below 20 but they all are observing life and brave enough to tell their stories.
Photographers:
Vikki tobak – contact high
matt Gunther – gang stars
Martha cooper
David Alan Harvey – living proof
References sites:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/how-hip-hop-learned-to-pose-for-the-camera
https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/collections/ccjdbd/Hip-Hop-photographs
https://www.mansworldindia.com/fresh/voices-of-the-underground-indias-new-rap-sensations-hip-hop/
https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/music/david-alan-harvey-hip-hop/
https://mymodernmet.com/jamel-shabazz-hip-hop-street-photography/
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