Janette Beckman: Hip Hop Years New York 1982–1992

Hip Hop Years New York 1982–1992 by Janette Beckman is a photographic zine published by Café Royal Books, documenting the rise of New York’s hip-hop scene through a decade of portraits and street photography. Beckman captures pioneering artists including LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, Chuck D, Jam Master Jay, and KRS-One, alongside breakdancers, young people, and the communities shaping the culture. From Brooklyn and Harlem to the Lower East Side, these black-and-white photographs offer an intimate look at hip-hop as it developed through music, style, and everyday life in New York.

36 pages
printed in England
staple bound
14cm x 20cm

British-born photographer Janette Beckman began her career at the dawn of punk rock working for music magazines The Face and Melody Maker. She shot bands including the Clash, the Specials, Boy George and the Jam as well as three Police album covers.

Drawn to the underground hip-hop scene, she moved to NYC in 1983 and photographed pioneers such as Run DMC, Slick Rick, Salt-N-Pepa, Grand Master Flash, LL Cool J and more.

Beckman has published four books : ‘Made in the UK, Music of Attitude 1977-1982’, ‘The Breaks Stylin’ and Profilin’1982-1990’ ‘El Hoyo Maravilla’ and in 2018 ‘The MashUp’ a collection of her Hip Hop photographs reinterpreted by legendary graffiti artists.

Her work has been exhibited in galleries worldwide and is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Museum of the City of New York, Marseille Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe, and the Tokyo Nakamura Keith Haring Collection

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