Living Proof.

Living Proof. Photographs by David Alan Harvey. Texts by Ruckus and Uptown. powerHouse Books, New York, 2008. 112 pp., 52 four-color illustrations, 8¼x11".

"Hip hop, which first began on the streets of the South Bronx in the early 1970s, has traveled the globe, finding a home in every corner of the planet. Remade by local cultures in their own language and regional style, hip hop’s versatility speaks to its accessibility and universality. The lyrics, the look, and the lifestyle could easily be a cultural anthropologist’s best example—or worst nightmare—of America’s influence and cultural dominance.

In 2005, Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey began photographing local emcees in the Bronx River Projects, home of hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, whose legendary Zulu Nation parties of the 70s inspired a new generation of b-boys and b-girls. It is their descendants that Harvey has captured in LIVING PROOF, a glimpse into hip hop in its many forms.

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Going global to document the regional manifestations of a culture a mere three decades in existence, Harvey traveled from Spain, France, and Gambia to Senegal, South Korea, and Thailand, discovering conversations with DAM in East Jerusalem sounded just like the ramble with Uptown and Ruckus."