Back in the Days [Hardcover]

Jamel Shabazz (Author), Fab 5 Freddy (Author), Ernie Paniccioli (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 2001

Back In The Days documents the emerging hip-hop scene from 1980-1989 - before it became what is today's multi-million-dollar multinational industry. Back in the days, gangs would battle not with guns, but by breakdancing. Back in the days, the streets - not corporate planning - set the standards for style. Back in the days, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, photographing everyday people hangin' in Harlem, kickin' it in Queens, and cold chillin' in Brooklyn. Street styling with an attitude not seen in fashion for another twenty years to come, Shabazz's subjects strike poses that put supermodels to shame - showing off Kangol caps and Gazelle glasses, shell-top Adidas and suede Pumas with fat laces, shearling coats and leather jackets, gold rope chains, door-knocker earrings, name belts, boom boxes, and other designer finery. For anyone who wants to know what "keepin' it real" means, Back In the Days is the book of your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Shabazz's photographs celebrate the "cool" style of early hip-hop culture between 1980 and 1989. Though his work is firmly rooted in the tradition of urban street photography, Shabazz here shows his subjects striking a pose and staring straight into the camera. The resulting images become less documentary and more yearbook-like in style. At first viewing, the clothes and posturing seem almost ridiculous, until we remember the excesses of the 1980s. By comparing the styles and attitudes of this bygone era to contemporary hip-hop culture, Ernie Paniccioli's essay places Shabazz's photos within a historical and social context. He points out that like all fresh and honest trends, the hip-hop style has become sadly commodified and more concerned with status than substance. But in the early era presented here, the focus was never style for style's sake it was about rebellion and survival. Shabazz, who has published his photos in the Source, Vibe, and other magazines, documents his "passion for photography and his love for his people" while raising important issues of racial justice and equality. Free self-expression is communicated through hair, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and, most importantly, posturing. An important examination of urban and youth culture through colorful photographs, this is recommended for all public and academic libraries. Shauna Frischkorn, Millersville Univ., PA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jamel Shabazz is the author of Back in the Days (powerHouse Books, 2001) and The Last Sunday in June (powerHouse Books, 2003). His photographs have appeared in publications including The Source, Vibe, TRACE, Flaunt, Mass Appeal, Jalouse, Black Book, OneWorld, and Honey. Shabazz’s work has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York; by Kangol at the Dazed & Confused Gallery, London; by adidas and Lodown at adidas Originals, Berlin; and in Trace’s True Signs, Paris. His debut book, Back in the Days, has received astounding critical acclaim and commercial success since its initial release in January 2001. Shabazz was born in Brooklyn and lives in Long Island, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576871061
• ISBN-13: 978-1576871065
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ...when brothers had waves, Cazal shades and corn braids... September 22, 2003

By James Rodriguez

Format:Hardcover

Just when you thought you escaped Bell-Kangols, Sheepskins and the Koch administration, along comes "Back In The Days". Photograhper Jamel Shabazz's vibrant tome is fresher than two-tone British Walkers with the LEE suit to match! More like your man's childhood photo album, B.T.D. is a melting pot of style, attitude and a throw-back to the glory days of 80's Hip Hop fashion. Looking at these pages brought back fond memories of Kurtis Blow and B-boys, Jordache n' Jettas, subway graffiti and shopping on Delancey. Jamel does a great job of capturing the youth of New York in one of the most stylish and important decades in Hip Hop history. It would've been dope though to include actual info (i.e., date, location and names of subjects and/or crews) on each page, but the omissions only help to arouse curiosity. Funny enough, the irony in the era(s) being covered in this book is: no matter what the socioeconomic conditions of the times were, (i.e., drugs, poverty, crime, Reganomics etc.) kids in NY always found a way to look good! Back In The Days is a great book and an excellent reference to a period in Hip Hop history when the word "fresh" wasn't just a catchphrase, but a way of life. --James "Koe" Rodriguez

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's FRESH!!! June 18, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

If you used to sit in front of the TV, after school, watching "YO MTV Raps" and "Rap City", then this book is for you. Just like how Moms and Dads can reminisce about the 60's & 70's, we can finally look back and remember the days when the only debt we had was a pager bill. Bamboo earings, asymmetric hair cuts, converse shoes and "TIGHT" jeans were in style. I usually don't spend over [price] on one book (I'm not that much of a reader) but I HAD to get this one. Definitely, a must have for those rainy days, or when you just want to sit back and "chill".

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars what beauty the eyes can capture April 5, 2002

By Gail Foster

Format:Hardcover

this book show a true gifted photographer,who has capture picture's from real life experience.I have also seen his work in several national magazines and also at the Brooklyn museum of art.He is truly another Gordon Parks.One never stops lookng back in the past at the fashion and styles of yesterday.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars damn that looks like me December 28, 2004

By STICK UP KID

Format:Hardcover

yo who said you can use my picture. BOOGIE DOWN BRONX IN THE HOUSE, HIP HOP DON'T STOP. I'M SORRY, THESE PICTURES ARE MAKING ME GO BACK IN TIME!!!!!!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Only in NYC June 13, 2003

By Ripton Whyte

Format:Hardcover

Growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn this book depicts the look and feel of NYC during this era. Brothers was rocking the shearlings tough, punks was getting their Lee patches taken and the flygirls was rocking the bamboo earings. Before the MTV era (although we did have Video Music Box) was setting the trend for how we looked and spoke, we looked within ourselves and let the streets define whether we were fresh or corney. Jamal represented in this book for real before the word was exploited. One

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, taken in that quintessential moment. September 17, 2007

By Max Headroom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

However, I've only got one issue with the book - where's all the Puerto Rican and white people? Two PR's and one white guy in the whole book? Come on. This is New York we're talking about here.

I grew up in Park Slope Brooklyn in the 80's.. remember downtown BK, Cobble Hill, South Brooklyn, Red Hook - the hip hop/graffiti/breaking culture was very diverse and the scene reflected that. Just take a look at "Style Wars".

This book is a great peek at who and what the culture was, but it's far from the whole story. More like a slice.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars MUST HAVE if you are an 80's child! August 7, 2003

By L. Haugen

Format:Hardcover

I got this book as soon as it came out, and it is better than I had expected. I always wished I had more photos of the outfits and growing up in the 80's and this book does justice to how we looked. Everything is nicely represented in this book although I wish more West Coast. But still, It's Fantastic and It's Nicely bound very artsy cool!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book December 22, 2012

By Ambrose F. Duckett, III

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

You have to cop this for your collection. The visuals are great.. it takes you back to a fading era. I remember the stripped lees and suede pumas.