Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

Journalist Tobak (Detroit News; Paper) provides a valuable lens into the history of hip-hop, offering iconic photographs spanning 1979–2012, along with the contact sheets. Commentary from the photographers gives context on how the shoots developed, locations were selected, interactions with the musicians, and other observations. There are essays by contributors such as photo collector and former Def Jam Recordings publicity director Bill Adler, artist Questlove, record producer DJ Premier, and Rhea L. Combs, curator of film and photography at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Among the photos are Gordon Parks's A Great Day in Hip-Hop (a remake of A Great Day in Harlem featuring more than 200 artists, including Fab Five Freddy, Twista, and Pete Rock), along with images of Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah, Run-DMC, Notorious B.I.G., Slick Rick, Queen Latifah, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and many more.