Beyond South Central: Rap legends N.W.A. as seen thru the lens of Ithaka Darin Pappas (1988-1990)

19 Feb Beyond South Central: Rap legends N.W.A. as seen thru the lens of Ithaka Darin Pappas (1988-1990)

Beyond South Central, by Greek-American photographer and artist, Ithaka Darin Pappas, is a collection of rarely seen black and white sometimes candid photographs of iconic gangsta rap superstars N.W.A.

Between the years of 1988 and 1990. Ithaka Darin Pappas was a regular freelance photographer for Priority Records in Los Angeles. During this time, he worked with the label’s biggest group N.W.A. approximately eighteen to twenty times. Although Ithaka was responsible for some of the record cover imagery (ex: Straight Outta Compton maxi-single and the We Want Eazy maxi-single cover), the images he was most often involved with were capturing candid portraits during key moments of their career, on the sets of music video shoots and interviews. His works represent the most extensive collection of N.W.A. pictures created by a single photographer. His pictures of N.W.A. have appeared in the books Contact High (Random House), Ice Cold (Taschen), and Hip Hop Raised Me (Thames & Hudson) and have been exhibited in world-renowned venues including; Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (Los Angeles), Annenberg Space for Photography (Los Angeles), International Center of Photography (New York), Museum of Pop (Seattle), Museum of Image and Sound (São Paulo), Ferro Gashouder (Rotterdam), Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi and Musée d’Art Contemporain (Marseille, France).