B+ (photographer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
B+
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| Born |
Brian Cross
1966 Limerick, Ireland
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| Occupation | Photographer, filmmaker |
Brian Cross (born in 1966), known as B+, is a photographer and filmmaker from Ireland. He lives in Los Angeles, California. B+ is famous for taking pictures of the hip hop music scene in Los Angeles during the 1990s. He also helped create album covers for many popular music artists. He co-founded a company called Mochilla, which makes films and music.
Contents
About B+
Brian Cross grew up in Limerick, Ireland. He loved hip hop music after hearing artists like Schoolly D and Public Enemy in the late 1980s. In 1989, he earned a degree in painting from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.
Moving to Los Angeles
In 1990, B+ moved to Los Angeles, California. He went to the California Institute of the Arts to study. He quickly became very interested in the underground hip hop music scene there. This was a new and exciting world of music for him.
His First Book
In 1993, B+ published his first book, It's Not About a Salary: Rap, Race and Resistance in Los Angeles. This book included essays, interviews, and many of his photographs. It featured conversations and pictures of artists like The Watts Prophets, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, and Freestyle Fellowship.
In 2014, Complex magazine recognized his work. They included him on their list of "15 Rap Photographers Every Rap Fan Should Know."
More Books and Exhibitions
In 2017, B+ released another book called Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed. This book showed faces of many artists. Some of these included J Dilla, Brian Wilson, Leon Ware, George Clinton, and The Notorious B.I.G..
In 2018, some of B+'s early hip hop photos were published. They appeared in a book called Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop by Vikki Tobak.
Museum Exhibit
In April 2019, the Contact High book became a museum exhibit. It was shown at The Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. B+ participated in several discussions and lectures about the show. His photos in the book and exhibit featured artists like Goodie Mobb and Ol' Dirty Bastard.
In the book, B+ shared a story about photographing Ol' Dirty Bastard. He recalled how shy the artist was when asked to pose for a photo. This picture was a playful copy of a famous magazine cover from 1993.
Books by B+
- It's Not About a Salary: Rap, Race and Resistance in Los Angeles (1993, Verso Books)
- Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed (2017, University of Texas Press)
