By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop) celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop by featuring the “Contact High” photographic history of Hip Hop exhibit.
As the exhibit came to a close last weekend, MoPop held a farewell party featuring special guest exhibit curator and author of the book “Contact High,” which features a collection of Hip Hop images from Hip Hop’s inception to the present, Vikki Tobak. Hip Hop pioneer and exhibit Creative Director Fab 5 Freddy, the original VJ of Yo! MTV Raps, was also in attendance with photographers Janette Beckman and Joe Conzo and Def Jam Records Director of Publicity Bill Adler.
“We are here for the closing of this particular exhibition,” says Freddy. “It is the first show of its kind to look at the history of hip hop photography, the most iconic images in hip hop, from magazine covers to album covers, to the most iconic images of the most impactful artists, and so the show is closing, and we are here to celebrate.”
The event was moderated by MoPop Associate Curator Adeerya Johnson. As the panel spoke about the history and importance of the imagery of Hip Hop and how just as the influence of the music has transcended American culture, so too, has the imagery of those involved in Hip Hop influenced pop culture.
“I think it is very important for the Seattle community to show that hip hop is well and alive,” says Michele Smith, CEO of MoPop. “As you know, Governor Inslee dedicated Hip Hop history month in November, and we gave Sir Mix-a-Lot the Hometown Hip Hop Award, and I think for us today, as MoPop and who we are, we want to really continue to be community allies and really work with youth and all of the community to really help them understand why Hip Hop is a genre that continues to be globally accepted.”
Tobak reflected on her personal experience and her introduction to music and hip hop and the beginnings of the exhibit and how it impacted those who came to view it.
“I grew up in Detroit which in itself is a very musical city,” Tobak recalls. “I grew up on funk, soul, R&B, Motown, Detroit radio was great, and everything in Detroit was expressed through music. I grew up processing everything through music, even politics, understanding everything through the lens of music.
“I started hearing hip hop in high school and I remember and hearing stuff coming out of New York, a little bit of NWA, but it was mostly East coast,” she added.
The Contact High exhibit gave fans of Hip Hop the opportunity to engage and observe the chronological history of hip hop through imagery. Generations were able to connect through the genre and learn and understand just how influential Hip Hop has been on pop culture.
“A Grandfather, a father, and a son walked through the exhibit together and you know, you listen to what they say,” says Tobak. “With Hip Hop now being 50 years old, new kids may not know who all the artists are, just as older generations may not know who the latest artists are. The show helps everyone understand the continuum of Hip Hop. It is definitely a different experience through all of the different eyes.”
In hip hop’s inception, vying for space on the MTV video circuit history showed MTV initially was not open to Black music. Yet, Freddy indicated that at the moment hip hop was introduced, MTV was open to the idea, and Yo! MTV Raps was born.
“In the beginning, I found that there were very few challenges,” says Freddy. “They were very open to the idea and they let us do what we really needed to do, so we ran it, made right choices. Obstacles came later in the journey, but in the beginning, it was so new, we were just doing it.”
