During the late 80's to early 90's I extensively documented the rise of the west coast hip hop scene. My loft/studio on Pico Blvd near Fairfax was next door to Crains Records, an indy shop that specialized in Soul, R&B and Hip Hop. All the artists came through Crains on their PR tours and I would often shoot portraits of them in my studio. I also produced a short run 'zine about the LA music scene called the LA Informer, and had the privilege of making exclusive photographs of NWA in the studio very early in their career while recording Straight Outta Compton. Tragically, my entire archive of photographs and negatives from this era was destroyed by USPS in a horrific accident in 2015 en route to NY. Only a few images that I had in my personal possession remain. These rare pieces of hip-hop history have never been published, exhibited or sold until now.

During the late 80's to early 90's I extensively documented the rise of the west coast hip hop scene. My loft/studio on Pico Blvd near Fairfax was next door to Crains Records, an indy shop that specialized in Soul, R&B and Hip Hop. All the artists came through Crains on their PR tours and I would often shoot portraits of them in my studio. I also produced a short run 'zine about the LA music scene called the LA Informer, and had the privilege of making exclusive photographs of NWA in the studio very early in their career while recording Straight Outta Compton. Tragically, my entire archive of photographs and negatives from this era was destroyed by USPS in a horrific accident in 2015 en route to NY. Only a few images that I had in my personal possession remain. These rare pieces of hip-hop history have never been published, exhibited or sold until now.