Jamel Shabazz

Terrence Jennings

Charlie Ahearn

Presents portraits and scenes of New York street life from the mid-70s to mid-80s, focusing on the hip-hop culture of African American youth prior to the rise of addiction and drug-related violence.

A Time Before Crack

Seconds of my life

Ernie Paniccioli

Fab 5 Freddy

Introduction and Interview by Fab 5 Freddy Back in the Days documents the emerging hip-hop scene from 1980-89, before it became what is today's multi-million-dollar multinational industry. Back in the days, gangs would battle not with guns, but by breakdancing. Back in the days, the streets - not corporate planning - set the standards for style. Back in the days, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, photographing everyday people showing off their street style. Eighty full-colour and b/w photos.

Back in the Days

Once upon a time before crack, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, working the streets of New York City, capturing the faces and places of an era that have long since disappeared. Once upon a time before crack, inner city communities were blighted by poverty and unemployment–but not by the drug wars that tore families apart, destroying lives with needless violence and mindless addiction. Once upon a time before crack, pride and style were as inseparable as a beatbox and mixtape, or as a pair of shoes and matching purse. Once upon a time before crack, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, working the streets of New York City, capturing the faces and places of an era that have long since disappeared. Best known as Hip Hop's finest fashion photographer for his blockbuster best-selling monograph, Back in the Days (powerHouse Books, 2001), Shabazz revisited his archive and unearthed an extraordinary collection of never-before-published documentary photographs collected for his third powerHouse Books release, A Time Before Crack, a visual diary of the streets of New York City from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties, Shabazz's distinctive photographs reveal the families, the poses, and the players who made this age extraordinary.

Jamel Shabazz

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