Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hiphop Photography

by Ernie Paniccioli, Kevin Powell

Nearly thirty years ago, Ernie Paniccioli began photographing the graffiti art throughout New York City as well as the young people creating it. Armed with a 35-millimeter camera, Paniccioli literally recorded the beginning salvos of hip hop, today the most dominant youth culture on the planet. Be it Grandmaster Flash at the Roxy, a summer block party in the Bronx, the fresh faces of Queen Latifah and Will Smith, the cocksure personas of Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Emimem, or the regal grace of Lauryn Hill, Ernie Paniccioli has been there to showcase hip hop's evolution much in the same way Gordon Parks recorded the Civil Rights Movement, or akin to the manner in which James Van Der Zee, the great photographer of Harlem in the 1920s, met the energy and spirit of his times. Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography is the first major pictorial history of hip hop culture based around the work of one photographer. Culled from a vast archive, the approximately 150 images in Who Shot Ya? represent the visual diary of a generation, essentially following this socio-political art form from the streets of New York City to the billion-dollar global industry it has become. While some of these iconic renderings have graced the pages of magazines and fanzines through the years, most are published here for the first time.

Genres: Photography, Music, Art

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Ernie Paniccioli is a renowned American photographer best known for his documentation of hip hop culture. A Cree Native American who grew up in Brooklyn, he began photographing graffiti in the 1970s while working for the telephone company. His career took off when he became the chief photographer for Word Up! Magazine in 1987, and his work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Life, and The Source. Encouraged by journalist Kevin Powell, Paniccioli published Who Shot Ya? in 2002 and Hip-Hop at the End of the World in 2018. His photographs have been exhibited in major galleries and institutions such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Brooklyn Museum. In 2012, he donated his archive to Cornell University’s Hip Hop Collection. Inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame in 2014, Paniccioli is widely recognized for chronicling the evolution of hip hop and urban culture through powerful visual storytelling. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Gabriel Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother Ernie has compiled the history of hip hop in this book. The moments of an important history in music

[Woody Gorfu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a hip hop photographer and his experiences with the many renown artist he has worked with.Hip hop photography is a very small sub genre that many people don't know about and in this book the author puts light on a subject that is important but looked over .The author talks about his experiences as a main pillar in the community by talking about the origins of hip hop and how he has been there the entire time.I would highly recommend this book who is into hip hop.

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many sweaty close-ups. A lot of these photos seem kinda generic. (IMHOWIOC)