Dupp & Swatt's #iGot50onit
I fell in love with hip-hop long before I ever held a camera—the culture came through flickering TV screens and CD booklets. I would watch music videos like they were mini movies, then pore over album art, photos, liner notes, and credits until the plastic jewel cases cracked at the hinges. That’s where I learned that images speak—they hold mood, rebellion, community, swag, and truth.
The moment it really hit me? Hearing The Roots’ Things Fall Apart. The sound pulled me in of course, but overall, it was the storytelling—sonic and visually—that showed me hip-hop was an archive of our lives. I would "read" every photograph in every magazine spread. Somewhere in those pages, a future photographer was waking up.
Fast-forward to now: my work is part of the #iGot50onit Hip Hop Exhibit by Dupp&Swatt at the Hayti Heritage Center, and it feels like the preacher's daughter from little ole Warrenton got handed the mic. Hayti has long been a heartbeat for Black culture here in Durham, and being included in this 50-year celebration is personal.
Fun fact: My portraits were supposed to be neatly framed—but they were too big. So, I did what any hip-hop artist would do: I freestyled. I built custom frames layered with elements that live in the culture—street‑style graffiti marks, strips of newspaper like the ones rolling down city sidewalks, torn magazine textures (a nod to all those pages I studied growing up), and touches of gold to crown the images in hip-hop royalty.
Every click of my shutter is still that little girl reading cd covers, looking for the story behind the sound. Hip-hop, you the love of my life!
