Letter from RESPECT. Founder

I’m honored to curate along with longtime collaborator, Datwon Thomas, “Brooklyn’s Finest: Legends in Focus” — a civic installation opening February 4 at Brooklyn Borough Hall, presented as part of Black History Month.

This installation brings together a selection of photographs that honor Brooklyn’s sizable impact on hip-hop culture and the photographers who helped document it. Hip-hop is one of New York City’s great cultural gifts to the world, and photography has been essential to how that story has been seen, remembered, and carried forward across generations.

With a limited number of images, it’s impossible to represent every Brooklyn rap artist, era, or neighborhood that helped build the legacy. Instead, this installation focuses on a tightly curated group of works reflecting the spirit, pride, and influence of Brookly —celebrating Hip-Hop icons whose lives and cultural contributions are deeply rooted in the borough.

At the heart of this display is the work of Jamel Shabazz, the legendary Brooklyn-born street photographer whose images have come to define generations of NY life, culture, and self-expression. His photographs are inseparable from Brooklyn’s visual history and from the lived experience of street culture itself.

The installation also features contributions from Matthew Salacuse, Mike Schreiber, Sarah A. Freeman, Justin Jay, and Lisa Leone—documentarians whose work captured BK icons in their respective emerging moments. The display is anchored by one of the most iconic portraits in music history: Baron Claiborne’s timeless image of The Notorious B.I.G., a photograph forever linked to BK’s imprint on the world.

At the center of the installation is a sequence honoring The Greatest Day in Hip-Hop History—a historic moment I helped organize in 1998 that brought together one of the most extraordinary assemblies of artists ever captured in a single image. While Harlem is the Mecca, Brooklyn showed up—and this moment belongs here because the culture has always moved between boroughs. The image featured here was captured by Gordon Parks’ trusted protégé, Johanna Fiore, whose lens preserves that day from a rare and personal vantage point. There also two images by yours truly capturing Busta Rhymes and Rakim on that day in 1998. Being in the right place at the right time is often what makes photography magical.

Additionally, a proclamation will be given to Hip-Hop pioneer, Fab5Freddy.

As a proud Brooklyn native, and as a co-founder of XXL Magazine/xxlmag.com and founder of RESPECT., the photo journal of hip-hop culture, it’s an honor for my firm iD8 Entertainment to underwrite and curate this installation in a civic space where New Yorkers can experience these images together.

Thank you to the Brooklyn Borough Hall President’s Office (Donavan Swanson and Roslyn Campbell) and the Borough Hall team for making space for public cultural storytelling.

— Jonathan A. Rheingold
Curator / Producer / RESPECT. Founder

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1. dvsn – Too Deep

2. Erykah Badu – Hello (ft. Andre 3000)

3. Tame Impala – New Person, Same Old Mistakes

4. Sampha – Too Much

5. Syd – Body

6. Daniel Caesar – Japanese Denim

7. Alina Baraz & Galimatias – Fantasy

8. Frank Ocean – Chanel

9. H.E.R. – Focus

10. Andre 3000 – Prototype

11. Anderson .Paak – Silicone Valley

12. Mos Def – UMI Says

13. Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness

14. 6LACK – PRBLMS

15. Noname – Shadow Man (ft. Saba, Smino & Pheolix)

Listen and comment what you think below. Keep it simple, and have a good week readers!

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Yasiin Bey is back with a new track entitled “Dec 99th-Local Time.”

Some of you all may just simply know Bey as Mos Def. The Hip-Hop icon announced his retirement earlier this year on Kanye West’s website saying, “I am retiring from the music recording industry as it is assembled today, and also from Hollywood,effective immediately.” He will also be releasing his final album this year. Yasin has been dealing with some legal issues after apparently using a false passport and travel documents as well. He was detained from leaving South Africa due to the dilemma, which led to him postponing many Scandinavian concerts.

Bey shared the new track on his A Country Call Earth Soundcloud that he uses to share his latest music. He also released “Dec 99th- N.A.W.” Both tracks were produced by Ferrari Sheppard, and Local time was recorded DPlanet Studios in Cape Town. “Wherever you are, the local time is now,” is a taste of the notable lyrics he places on the track .

We are hoping for the best for Yasiin Bey is dealing with his legal issues, make sure you show love by listening to his latest tracks and the release of his upcoming album, which a date has not been set for.

https://soundcloud.com/acountrycalledearth/dec-99th-local-time-prod-ferrari-sheppard

https://soundcloud.com/acountrycalledearth/dec-99th-naw

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The post Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) Drops “Dec.99th-Local Time” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Almost immediately after his release of his mixtape “If Guns Could Speak PSA” via soundcloud, with the hashtag, #FreeYasiin, rapper Wara from the NBHD, dropped track “Peace To All Fear Of None (Freestyle)” . For those who are uninformed, rapper Mos Def was arrested in South Africa for having fake passports, his legal name Yasiin Bey. Channeling all the greatest things about hip-hop, the rapper spits much more than a hot sixteen. If you have never listened to Wara before, listen to his new freestyle below:

The post NEW MUSIC: Peace To All Fear Of None (Freestyle) by Wara from the NBHD, appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Yasiin Bey is back to the name Mos Def for his latest cut with production by Ski Beatz. This one is titled “Sensei On the Block,” and it finds Def in his natural element as he drops bars filled with intricate wordplay and symbolic references. Check it out below.

The post New Music: Mos Def & Ski Beatz – “Sensei On the Block” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

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A$AP Rocky builds further anticipation for his upcoming album “A.L.L.A,” as he finally blesses us with the coveted tracklist. Pretty Flacko is at the apex of his musical career and with the tragic and untimely loss of his business partner and brother Yams, (RIP) Rocky’s newest album is positioned to be that much more personal and impactful. “A.L.L.A” enlists the help of some heavyweights including Future, Kanye West, Juicy J, UGK, Miguel, Rod Stewart, (yes, Rod Stewart) Schoolboy Q, and the addition of Lil Wayne to the previously released “M’$.” Eclectic looking cuts like “Canal St.” featuring Bones and “Westside Highway” with James Fauntleroy are going to add deeper elements to an album that we’re sure is geared to once again push musical boundaries. Peep the Tracklist Below:

1. Holy Ghost (Feat. Joe Fox)
2. Canal St. (Feat. Bones)
3. Fine Whine (Feat. M.I.A., Future, & Joe Fox)
4. L$D
5. Excuse Me
6. JD
7. Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2
8. Electric Body (Feat. Schoolboy Q)
9. Jukebox Joints (Feat. Kanye West & Joe Fox)
10. Max B (Feat. Joe Fox)
11. Pharsyde (Feat. Joe Fox)
12. Wavybone (Feat. Juicy J & UGK)
13. Westside Highway (Feat. James Fauntleroy)
14. Better Things
15. M’$ (Feat. Lil Wayne)
16. Dreams (Interlude)
17. Everyday (Feat. Rod Stewart & Miguel)
18. Back Home (Feat. Mos Def, Acyde, & Yams)

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