Contact High at the Annenberg

Thanks for checkin' out Bsombin'! I'll never forget the first time I heard Hip-hop music. I was in 3rd grade and I was playing on the playground one day after school. My friend Justin brought his boom box and a couple of his big brother's cassette tapes and told my other friends and I that we had to listen to these tapes his brother let him borrow! He put in a tape from a group called Run DMC that was titled "Raising Hell" and started playing a song called "You Be Illin'". ...As soon as it started, my friends and I were blown away! We had never heard anything like it. But we all agreed that it was awesome! We asked Justin what kind of music it was and he told us it was something called "Rap" music. It was something new that wasn't being played on the radio yet. But we wanted to hear more. He played a few more songs off "Raising Hell" before he ejected it and pulled out another tape from a group called The Beastie Boys. It was titled "Licensed To Ill" and the first song he played for us was "Brass Monkey". Again, we all agreed that it was awesome, as we circled around the boom box dancing. We didn't even know how to dance to this strange new sound, but we didn't care and couldn't hold still while the music played. I fell in love with Hip-hop that day and I've loved her ever since. I went home that day and asked my parents for money to buy one of the tapes. A few days later, my step dad took me to The Warehouse music store and I bought "Raising Hell". That was the first album I bought and the start of my journey into the world of Hip-hop. When I got home I opened up the cassette and took out the sleeve to read and look at the pictures as I listened to the music. I was fascinated by the men who made the music and seeing their pictures made it feel like I could actually relate to them on some level. The images on the sleeve made almost as much of an impact on me as the music itself did. It was then that I started falling in love with the Hip-hop culture. The pictures on that sleeve showed me a world I would have otherwise never seen. A world I wanted to explore and learn more about. They peaked my curiosity and inspired me. Those images were powerful and icon, even then...

Last month, the Annenberg Space for Photography opened a new exhibition called Contact High. Contact High is a visual history of Hip-hop music. It is centered around the contact sheets that the industry photographers used as proofs and shows many of the out takes from shoots that had never been seen before. Contact High also showcases some of the most icon Hip-hop images from over the years and the photographers who took them. When I heard it was opening, I couldn't wait to go check it out. I invited my good friend Jeff (The guy who got me into photography) and headed out to Century City to go geek out on the pictures we fell in love with as kids. As a photographer, I found so much inspiration and motivation to keep working on my craft. As a lover of Hip-hip I went on a magical trip through time reliving some of my own experiences while seeing the images I grew up admiring. It was very nostalgic. Seeing some of the images made me remember the things that were going on in my life when I saw them for the first time. It was also surreal seeing some of the pictures that I hadn't seen. Almost like seeing old friends in a new light.

The exhibition will be on display at the Annenberg until August 19th, for those who would like to see it first hand. And the images from the exhibition are also available as a book which is also titled "Contact High". For those who can't get to the Annenberg, I took some pictures to share with you all. They won't do justice to the original's but at least you can get a feel for what the exhibition is like. Again, I took too many pictures to share all of them. But here are my favorites...

#TBT With B.T.S.

Thank you for checkin' out Bsombin'! I recently got back to blogging, after a 2 year hiatus away from it. During my break away from blogging, I continued to make a lot of content. Photography became my favorite way to spend time and I began doing work as a photographer. I spent a lot of time shooting over the past few years. So, now, I literally have thousands and thousands of pictures in my archives that I still have to sort and edit. I don't really want to go back and play catch up on all the stuff I shot during the time I wasn't blogging. But I do want to share that work. I decided to make "Throw Back Thursdays" the day to dig in the archives and post the stuff that hasn't been seen. This week, I wanted to share some pictures that I made at a Blaq Tongue Society concert. B.T.S. was kind enough to let me got back stage with them before the show. They even invited me to go out on stage with them to shoot during their performance. It was an awesome night and an unforgettable experience, shooting on stage at a concert for the first time. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to shoot B.T.S. Here are some of my favorite shots from the show...

Interview With The Blaq Tongue Society

I honestly can't remember exactly when it was that it happened... I just know it was sometime last year. What I do remember was walking into Pogo's ( a little dive bar in the San Fernando Valley ) one night with my back pack on. I had been there enough times for security to know that all I had in the bag was my laptop, sketch book, and a pen and note pad. So, without delay, I made my way to the bar. That's were I found the 2 members of the Blaq Tongue Society I was there to meet. I greeted Strang3r Dang3r and Louie Syntax, as I ordered a rum and coke and pulled up a stool. Just after I got my drink, my ILUMN8ed brethren Tony walked in and joined us.

...I had been talking to Tony about wanting ILUMN8 Co to collaborate with other artist. At about the same time, Tony had been talking to B.T.S. about working on a project together. So Tony arranged to have us all meet up to brain storm and go over ideas. After a couple of meetings,some phone calls, texts, and emails, we decide to make T-shirts and posters with a Stay Illuminated x Blaq Tongue Society horror movie theme design. We titled our mock movie project "The Illuminated Society" and we all worked together to create the artwork for the shirts and posters.

In addition to the T-shirt Co-Lab, we had also been working on the artwork for Louie Syntax's debut solo album. That night, we were finalizing both the album and Co-Lab art, over brews and cancer sticks. While we were there, I took the opportunity to briefly interview Louie and Strang3r about the past and future of the Blaq Tongue Society and Louie Syntax as a solo artist. Below the first part of the interview are some rare images of the enigmatic Blaq Tongue Society that I was fortunate enough to capture, at the Hansen Dam, on a hot sunny Easter Sunday...

Interview with the Blaq Tongue Society

B - Who founded the Blaq Tongue Society?

S.D.- Krylox appointed me and told me, "he's lookin' out for little bro." He said, "...You'll have to leave Ground Common (the group Strang3r Dang3r was in at the time) and you'll find a new cast..."

B - How long ago did this happen?

S.D. - Krylox called upon me to go out and assemble the Blaq Tongue Society in 2010. Before becoming the Blaq Tongue Society, C.H.U.Dz ( Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellez) spawned. After some changes and additions, B.T.S. was formed. 

B - Explain who Krylox is.

S.D. - Our Lord and master!

S.D. & L.S. - All hail Lord Krylox!

B - How did you find everyone?

S.D. - Krylox guided me and lead me to them. I met SeveriN Kyrax and Louie Syntax at a Bud the Cudd show and was introduced to Vice The Anti-Hero through a neighbor of mine. Whu Dat (Strang3r's younger sister) was always around. But it wasn't until we were recording the last song for the album that we brought her on and officially made her a part of the group.

B - What about Sludge, what's up with him?

L.S. - Sludge is like our hype-man. He doesn't rap or say anything, but he always comes out with us on stage. He adds to our shows, it wouldn't be a Blaq Tongue show without him.

S.D - We met Sludge through my younger brother DJ NO I.D. They met on the short bus in school. My brother brought him over one day and he started hanging out with us. He just loves music and was around so we made him part of B.T.S.

B - You guys just added another member recently, too, right?

S.D. - Vice has been doing a side project with Grizzly AMX. AMX is a dope MC, we were working good together, and everyone is on the same level, in several ways. So we talked about it and we all decided that he should be a part of B.T.S. He's going to be on the second B.T.S. album that we are working on now....

B - So Louie's solo album is coming out soon, then Vice & AMX's project, and B.T.S.2 after that?

S.D. - Yeah. We have some other stuff we are working on and some other MCs we are working with. But that's for later, farther down the road. First Louie, then Vice and AMX, then B.T.S.2. 

B - Why did you pick Louie to be the first solo project out of the B.T.S. camp?

L.S. - My solo album kind of spawned the idea for B.T.S. We've been working on it for a while, too. So it just made sense to start there. At the same time, it kind of segues into B.T.S.2.

B - Okay. So,, let me stop you there, as far as B.T.S. goes, for now... Let's talk about Louie Syntax...

At this point, the interview shifted focus and I talked more to Louie Syntax about his past, present, and future as an M.C., so I'm going to stop here. B.T.S.'s new album "Speaking In TongueZ"(B.T.S.2) is droppin' very soon. From what I understand, Krylox has approved all the tracks and the album is very close to being finished. So, for all the hip-hop heads that love raw lyrics over ill beats, make sure to keep an eye out for "Speaking In TongueZ"! And check back soon for more Bsombin'!