Photography and hip-hop have always been deep passions of mine, and two things I’ve always gravitated towards.

The idea of telling a story through a carefully-captured single moment in time was mind-blowing. Equally interesting was the ability to bend the rules of grammar and tell story through rhythm and poetry.

A pillar in the documentation of hip-hop history, Chi Modu comes from humble beginnings. Chi is someone who documented the hip-hop movement, nearly three decades ago, and captured iconic moments and pictures of larger-than-life personas. The legends of the game. He now continues to travel the world and document other movements and stories.

His name may not ring a bell, but his work has left a massive hand-print in the concrete of hip-hop history. A history that continues to grow and evolve daily.

In the same way hip-hop can transport the listener into a world of thought they may not have lived through or have first-hand experience of, photography is able to expose and share insight of a moment in the same way, where the viewer can appreciate the art.

Being a hip-hop head for many years, it always shocked me — the amount of people who knew of Chi Modu’s photographs, but had no idea who took them. It’s often the case, with many aspects of hip-hop and beyond, that the most important figures are often found outside of the picture.

The opportunity to interview Chi Modu came up. In a quest to delve into his thoughts about photography, hip-hop, and life in general —I took it.

All images contained within this piece are shot by and/or credited to/by Chi Modu himself. When using a photographer’s work, please always give credit.