Discussing Hip Hop’s timeline through photography with Mochilla

Originally published on September 2015

Electives at Concordia University just reached a whole notha’ level. Hip Hop has been added to the equation to teach students about the history of one of the most notorious music genres to infect youth with the isolating bitch-don’t-kill-my-vibe syndrome. This year, Pop Montreal brought the festival to the classroom, with a talk that took us back in time to dissect the chronology of Hip Hop, as seen through the camera lens.

Left to right: Mochilla’s Eric Coleman and Brian Cross (B+)

Wednesday evening: first day of POP Montreal. First destination: a talk on Hip Hop — I thought: “Sweet! A clinic, a live performance, question period. Dope”. Although as soon as I walked into the auditorium, a great energy slowly built up, with a side order of anxiety; a bunch of seats were getting filled, but I also saw students walking up front and turning in what looked to be assignments. A little different from what I had in mind, disons. However, the anxiety turned into comic relief when beside me sat a guy who spontaneously asked me: “Bro, if you still need a partner for the next assignment, let me know”!

Hate to break to you dude, but we won’t be. Nonetheless, he was kind enough to volunteer to be my insider for the segment.

The talk in question was part of an ongoing course taught by critically-acclaimed, MTL-based Hip Hop artist and Professor Yassin “Narcy” Alsalman. He is committed to teaching the group about the genre’s past, present, and future. “The class was full within the first hour of registration” said my insider, while giving me a glimpse of the course outline. The group’s enthusiasm is undeniable, and Narcy’s casual attire, highlighted by a denim shirt buttoned all the way to the top and a flat brim cap, by no means compromises his strictness on guidelines for upcoming assignments. The typical headless chickens were panicking in the row in front of me. Jeez, even I was getting nervous.

Once everyone took a seat, Narcy warmly introduced the evening’s guests: Brian Cross (B+) and Eric Coleman, the two photographers behind Mochilla, a production company based in Los Angeles. The name of the company, which means “backpack” in Spanish, is symbolic of the ideology behind the two founders’ artistry; they rely solely on basic gear and engagement for their work. That said, Mochilla has a mantra:” if the equipment doesn’t fit in a backpack, we won’t shoot it”.

To begin, Narcy went back in time to dissect the individual career paths of these two. Although B+ and Coleman come from different countries, the contexts and which they came from were equally chaotic at the time, thus fueling their creativity and endeavours towards their inevitable encounter in 1996. B+ is from Limerick, Ireland and remembers the difficulties of his country during that time: the 1981 Hunger Strike, 30% unemployment, political instability. No bueno. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1989, he fled to L.A. to study photography at Cal Arts, and it was during that time he was sucked in the rising world of Hip Hop. Coleman is a native of South Central Los Angeles, and began taking photos as a hobby in his early twenties. He subsequently dropped out of college in 1993 to pursue his passion. Although it took them several years to get introduced to each other, both B+ and Coleman cut their teeth in L.A.’s underground Hip Hop scene.

The late 80s were wild years for Los Angeles; earthquakes, the LA riots, the notoriety of the glam rock scene on the Sunset strip, and of course, the rise of Gangsta Rap. ‘’It was a special incubation period’’, said B+, who’s photographed legendary artists such as Eazy-E, Biggie and Mos Def.’’ Commercial radio didn’t want to play Hip Hop, and there’s wasn’t any social media, so everything happened in the underground’’, he added. Coleman started out taking photos at jams, and eventually landed gigs with names like MF Doom, DJ Shadow and A Tribe Called Quest.

On the surface, there’s no doubt these guys had the opportunity to build an impressive body of work with Hip Hop’s greats, while helping define musical photography for the genre. The audience really enjoyed asking them what were some of their favourite artists to work with, but what really struck a chord with me was rather their honest and persistent approach throughout the years. L.A.’s energy at the time was without doubt instrumental to inspiring creativity in artists, and it also made for more candid and personal relationships between them. In essence, they paid their dues in their local scene without any media hype or any bullshit — the way it should be. I was convinced the moment B+ said: ‘’in this business, if you wait to get permission, it’ll never happen’’. At first glance, the guys from Mochilla look pretty normal in that they can easily blend into a crowd; no bling, no crazy hair nor shade-wearing inside a room. Their understated appearance was refreshing to see, given their level of importance in the biz. Narcy concluded: ‘’you weren’t just peripheral, you were in the middle of it all”.

Although the rise of Hip Hop was fun to hear about, the Mochilla duo suggested that history is currently repeating itself: “there’s certainly been a rebirth over the years with rappers such as Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar”, they added. As for the city of L.A., it continues to be a woodshed that fuels creativity: “L.A. is beautiful right now. It’s on fire”, affirmed Coleman.

Overall, the talk proved to be a perfect balance between educative and entertaining; Narcy has managed to seamlessly blend the energy and culture of the streets with academia. In any case, Mochilla’s story is another great example of how cultural phenomenons feed off their urban settings — it’s about getting out there and getting involved in the local scene. But to be fair, I was left doubting how any of this explains the future of Hip Hop. Guess I’ll have to attend next class.

Looking for an elective next semester? FFAR256AA at Concordia U for the win.