During the late 80's to early 90's I documented the rise of the west coast hip hop scene in Los Angeles. My loft/studio on Pico Blvd near Fairfax was next door to Crains Records, an indy shop that specialized in Soul, R&B and Hip Hop. All the artists came through Crains on their PR tours and I would often shoot portraits of them in my studio. I also produced a short run 'zine about the LA music scene called the LA Informer, and had the privilege of making exclusive photographs of NWA in the studio very early in their career while recording Straight Outta Compton. Tragically, my entire archive of photographs and negatives from this era was destroyed by USPS in a horrific accident in 2015 en route to NY. Only a few images that I had in my personal possession remain. These rare pieces of hip-hop history have never been published, exhibited or sold until now.
This image was shot in 1987 at Audio Achievements Studio, just outside Compton during the recording of Straight Outta Compton, the group's debut studio album, which went on to define West Coast Gangsta' Rap and sell over 1 million copies. They had just arrived from a gun shop with these firearms, unboxing them for the shot. Pictured L-R: Eazy-E, DOC, Dr. Dre, Arabian Prince, DJ Yella.
