Mike Schreiber captures True Hip-Hop in black and white

GLOBAL – NEW YORK, NY, USA, OCTOBER 20, 2010 – Self-taught New York City photographer Mike Schreiber’s new book True Hip-Hop collects both published and unpublished images of the personalities that have elevated the form to its international, superstar status. 

 

Captured largely in black and white, True Hip-Hop spans over a decade of working with legendary names like Biz Markie, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and M.I.A. Many of the photographs are accompanied with Schreiber’s stories about the shoots, sharing an aesthetic viewpoint that is refined yet undeniably honest in its raw and gritty tone. 

 

As Craig "muMs" Grant writes in his foreword, "Hip-hop needs a Mike Schreiber to tell its truth because when all the bling and gloss and desire fade it will stand because of its honesty."

 

"People always ask me about what inspires me," Schreiber writes in the introduction. "I always tell them that my main inspiration comes from an overwhelming desire to never have a regular job. Twelve years in, and so far so good."

 

Schreiber’s work has been featured in Esquire, Rolling Stone, TRACE, New York Magazine, VIBE, XXL, The Source, SLAM, SPIN and Arise. He has shot ad campaigns for Mountain Dew, AND1, City Year and Partnership For A Drug-Free America. His other clients include Atlantic Records, Epic Records, Sony, Universal Records and Koch Records.

 

He has also captured varied subjects including prisoners in Angola state prison and kids on the streets of Cuba.