2Pac “Becoming Clean” Photo Shoot

Here’s film from set of 2Pac’s iconic “Becoming Clean” photo shoot. Shot by photographer David Lachapelle, the photo was taken following Pac’s release from prison. Below is an interview of Lachapelle discussing the shoot.

DM: I feel that a lot of your work emphasises on beauty in people, regardless of colour or size. One of my favourite pieces of your work is “Becoming Clean” with Tupac Shakur amongst others. How was it like work with him?


DL: Tupac was great, he was very sensitive and is truly a good person. I wrote to his mum when he died and she sent me flowers and gave me his last song, “Ghetto Gospel.” When we did the shoot, he had just come out of prison and every shot has a reason, it’s never random, so this was the idea of the photo shoot, him becoming clean. He had given this interview when he was still in prison and he really opened up and was so honest. I had read it and thought it was so truthful so for the work I did with him, there was this idea of washing away and rebirth. And we did another shoot where he posed as a slave on a cotton field. They traced rapping and rhyming to “call and repeat” during slavery time in sugar cane and cotton fields to pass the time. It’s on the Hotel Lachapelle book. Tupac came to the shoot 2 hours early, which was very unusual for a rapper. So I wasn’t ready for the shoot and he didn’t care. He reminded me of my black friends whom I went to art schools with, he was so cool, open-minded and chill. He wasn’t judgemental. Then later on, I found out that he had gone to an art school. He left behind a big bag of socks and underwear because he had just come out from prison and never picked it up. He died shortly after. I still wear his socks sometimes (laughs

Props: Urban Empire

DJ Quicksilva & Young Guru At Cafe Asia This Saturday

Click the image to RSVP.
Now here’s a hell of a “matchup”: a local legend in his own right matching turntables with who might quite possibly be the number one engineer in Hip-Hop? Sounds like a win for the crowd to me…
In one corner, we have DJ Quicksilva, a DC/Baltimore area DJ that’s been doing big things in radio for over 10 years, working with the likes of one of DC’s biggest urban radio stations (WKYS) and premiere urban fashion entity DTLR (aka Downtown Locker Room). This doesn’t even include the various clubs and lounges he’s had locked down in the nation’s capital and around the world.
In the other corner, we have the man responsible for mixing a lot of of Roc-A-Fella Records catalog since the turn of the century: Young Guru went from being an independent engineer to being the key head at the legendary Bassline Studios (and later Roc The Mic Studios) after a few chance encounters working with Jay-Z’s right hand man Memphis Bleek. This naturally led to him becoming Hova’s very own engineer and DJ. Needless to say, his extensive resume of projects worked on are nothing short of Hall of Fame…
…and he will be rocking the crowd in DC for the first time ever this Saturday.
Who will rock the crowd the hardest? Only one way to find out, but one thing is definitely for sure: whoever comes to this event can’t lose either way. Don’t get caught missing out.
Click the above image or here to RSVP for complimentary admission.

Consequence – The World Is Watching…

Yo….what the hell is this?

I use to hear the term “TroubleMaker” and equate it as something negative. I now regard it as a term of endearment. With that being said, if what you’re about to witness makes me a “TROUBLEMAKER” then indeed… It’s time to start some TROUBLE. The moments depicted in this clip have been in front of US all along. I hate to be the “Bearer of Bad News” but ‘Movies On Demand 3’ will be the MOST CONTROVERSIAL project that Hip-Hop has seen in some time.