Jamel Shabazz

Cited in Ibi Zoboi's My Life As An Ice-Cream Sandwich

"The faces of the generation that gave birth to hip-hop"

Photographs taken in New York from 1980-1989. Nearly all are posed portraits of individuals or groups, with a few candids. Subjects are on sidewalks, stoops, subway stations, subway trains, on motorcycles, in parks, holding boom boxes, showing off graffiti and the unique fashion of the '80s. Nearly all subjects are African American, though there are a few white-appearing faces in some of the group shots. Vibrant.

"My mission was simple. Travel throughout the city and capture the beauty and true essence of a people, starting with the teenagers." (Shabazz)

"I was fortunate to photograph many men, women, and children in their best years before crack and AIDS destroyed their communities. The camera enabled me to tell a person how special and valuable they were and I had hoped that I could encourage people to look toward their own futures and believe in themselves." (Shabazz)… (mere)

from the publisher: On the last Sunday in June, New York City celebrates Gay Pride Month by staging a parade of floats showboating south down Fifth Avenue to Christopher Street. Originally staged to celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which mark the birth of the Gay Pride movement and the eventual recognition of rights for gays and lesbians, Gay Pride Month now takes over the West Village in a parade that attracts close to a million people of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, and classes. The four-on-the-floor thump of house music pumps as caravans of divas, boob-flapping biker gals, and costumed creatures preen, primp, and pucker for cameras and spectators on the street. Equally colorful is the crowd, clapping and cheering for the performers before parading about town themselves.

As a follow-up to his crazy successful, fashion and pop culture-influencing book of Hip Hop's early days, Back In The Days, photographer Jamel Shabazz takes a sharp turn in bringing to light a vastly original - and under-documented—emerging subculture in Last Sunday In June. Drawing from an enormous cast of eye-catching characters, Shabazz showcases an extraordinary collection of luscious lesbians, tasteful transsexuals, and dramatic drag queens done up in their Sunday best to celebrate Gay Pride.

Jamel Shabazz is the author of Back in the Days (powerHouse Books, 2001). His photographs have appeared in publications including The Source, Vibe, TRACE, Flaunt, Mass Appeal, Jalouse, Black Book, OneWorld, and Honey. Shabazz’s work has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York; by Kangol at the Dazed & Confused Gallery, London; by adidas and Lodown at adidas Originals, Berlin; and in Trace’s True Signs, Paris. His debut book, Back in the Days, has received astounding critical acclaim and commercial success since its initial release in January 2001. Shabazz was born in Brooklyn and lives in Long Island, New York.… (mere)