True Hip-Hop
Mike Schreiber
- Page Count: 96
- Size: 7 x 7 inches
- Format: Casebound
- Publication Date: October 2010
- Price: $14.95
- ISBN: 978-1-9356131-1-4
Having appeared in magazines like Rolling Stone, VIBE, XXL and Spin, Mike Schreiber’s photographs feature the biggest and brightest stars of hip-hop. True Hip-Hop collects both published and unpublished images of the personalities that have elevated the form to its international, superstar status.
Schreiber’s world is one of randomly running into Redman on the street, going grocery shopping with Styles P, and inviting Slick Rick over to his apartment. Captured largely in black and white, True Hip-Hop spans over a decade of working with legendary names like Biz Markie, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and M.I.A. Many of the photographs are accompanied with Schreiber’s stories about the shoots, revealing how he infuses the images with intimacy and integrity, sharing an aesthetic viewpoint that is refined yet undeniably honest in its raw and gritty tone.
As Craig “muMs” Grant writes in his foreword, “Hip-hop needs a Mike Schreiber to tell its truth because when all the bling and gloss and desire fade it will stand because of its honesty.”
M.I.A. says of Schreiber’s work: “If I ever have a mug shot taken I want Mike to do it.”
“People always ask me about what inspires me,” Schreiber writes in the introduction. “I always tell them that my main inspiration comes from an overwhelming desire to never have a regular job. Twelve years in, and so far so good.”
