Tupac shakur at club amazon
Photo Credit: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Photo Credit: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
From breaking videos to old graffiti photos to informative tidbits about hip-hop history, here are 10 Instagram pages dedicated to preserving hip-hop culture.
In the early days of the internet, fans and appreciators could turn to a number of indie blogs and websites to learn about hip-hop culture.
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These sites, which included places like BombHipHop, Davey-D’s Hip Hop Corner, USGMag, The-Breaks, and Okayplayer's forum, were there with the purpose of feeding hip-hop heads’ passion and curiosity. In recent years, the popularity of these types of small, independent hip-hop sites has waned with social media emerging as a primary source for hip-hop media. With its focus on audio and visual content, Instagram has proven to be a surprisingly rich social media platform for niche hip-hop content.
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From breaking videos to old graffiti photos to informative tidbits about hip-hop history, here are 10 Instagram pages dedicated to preserving hip-hop culture.
With over 1,300 posts, Meccapolis is a deep resource of archival photos of '80s and '90s New York City hip-hop and street culture. Polaroid pics of hustlers sporting Cazal sunglasses and fat gold chains is enough to spark a feeling of deep nostalgia to anyone who grew up in the hood during the crack era. In addition to the page’s dope visual aesthetic, the posts’ captions provide in-depth background stories about the lives, triumphs, and tragedies of its subjects. There is also a Philly version of Meccapolis, focusing on the classic music, fashion, and history of the 215.
Rap Booklets
A totally unique IG page curated by Zilla Rocca and Egypto Knuckles, Rap Booklets contains tons of scans of CD booklets from classic and obscure hip-hop albums. There's everything from Phife Dawg in the barber’s chair from his 2000 solo album Ventilation: Da LP to Chino XL walking on water from his 1996 debut Here To Save You All.
On This Date in Hip-Hop
"Celebrating tha (sp) good bad & ugly." That's how On This Date in Hip-Hop describes its Instagram channel, which honors a different hip-hop anniversary every day. This includes anniversaries centered around everything from album and single releases to random altercations, like "Bow Wow getting ruffed (sp) up by his ex." You'll never lose track of an anniversary again after following this page.
Philly Graffiti Channel
Focusing on the birthplace of the modern graffiti art movement, Philly Graffiti Channel is a massive (25K+ posts) archive of contemporary Philly wall writing. With artwork ranging from quick throw-ups to elaborate, colorful pieces, Philly Graffiti Channel highlights the diversity and skill of Philly graffiti writers.
The '90s Tip
Feeding the demand for '90s nostalgia, there are many IG pages that post throwback images snatched from the era of box braids and JNCO jeans. The '90s Tip is one such page that does it with a flair and focus on Black pop-culture that is nearly unmatched. With its colorful images of popular rap, R&B, film, and television stars of the day, a few minutes scrolling is enough to make you feel like you’re flipping through the pages of Vibe Magazine circa 1997.
World B-Boy Classic
While rap music is clearly the most prominent aspect of hip-hop culture, breaking has been at the heart of the culture since its very beginnings. The World B-Boy Classic IG page has a ton of vibrant videos of dancers around the world getting busy.
Created in 1998 by Michael “Big Star” Starling, the 2 Raw For The Streets VHS and DVD series has since become the stuff of legend, capturing Philly’s rich and fertile late '90s/2000s battle/street rap scene. The 2 Raw IG page posts many of the classic freestyles that were previously only available on DVD or low-quality Youtube uploads. The page features a ton of lesser-known MCs, alongside future-stars like Freeway, Peedi Peedi, RJ Payne, Cassidy and more, getting their first moments to shine on camera.
Mixtape Classics
Throughout the '90s and '00s, a host of New York DJs were flooding the streets with a wave of mixtapes that would change the way hip-hop music was made, listened to, marketed and distributed. The Mixtape Classics IG page highlights some of the best releases from the mixtape era, featuring legends like DJ Clue, Ron G, Mister Cee, Tony Touch, Green Lantern, and Kay Slay.
Based on the admin's huge collection of contemporary and vintage rap magazines, the Rap Zines IG page harkens back to the days of hip-hop’s presence in print media. Impeccably curated from a deep and diverse selection, Rap Zines may be the only place where you can find Travis Scott’s cover of L’Uomo Vogue alongside golden-era rap mags like The Source, Rap Pages, and Murder Dog.
Jamel Shabazz
Full of gorgeous, eye-popping photos, Jamel Shabazz’s IG page is full of works from one of hip-hop's finest photographers. Whether they’re in rich, full color or stark black and white, each of Shabazz’s images are bursting with life and brimming with a sense of warm, joyous, intimacy.
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John Morrison is a writer, DJ, and sample-flipper based in Philadelphia.
