Michael Benabib is an American

portrait photographer Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective Photographic lighting, lighting, Painted photography backdrops, backdrops, and poses. A portr ...

, known for his portraits of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

, and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

among others. Notable portrait photography of public figures include

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and former law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appoin ...

and

Loretta Lynch Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is an American lawyer who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the Un ...

. His work has appeared in publications including Vanity Fair,

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

, GQ,

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

ESPN magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

. His work was included to photography collections on display by

The Smithsonian The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and

MoMa Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

Hip-hop photography

In the 1980s, Michael freelanced with Rush Management and

Def Jam Records Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

; his photography of musicians include

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and disc jockey Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasion ...

, among many others. In 2007,

Watson-Guptill Publications Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their headquarters are at 17 ...

and Billboards Books published “In Ya Grill: The Faces Of Hip-Hop” the hip-hop photography of Michael Benabib and text by Bill Adler.

Career

In 1995, his editorial photography assignments for magazines include

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

ESPN Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

, and Bloomberg Markets Magazine. In 1997, his editorial magazine photography led to advertising assignments for brands including

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

, Sprite, Lugz,

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

and

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. In the early 2000s, his assignments include Forbes Life Magazine and

Fortune 500 companies The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along w ...

such as

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

CitiBank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

and

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

, among others.

Exhibitions

In 2003, The Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery founded by

Bill Adler Bill Adler is an American music journalist and critic who specializes in hip-hop. Since the early 1980s he has promoted hip-hop in a variety of capacities, including as a publicist, biographer, record label executive, documentary filmmaker, mu ...

, largely devoted to hip-hop photography, curated a one-man show showcasing the work of photographer Michael Benabib. In September 2015, the Eyejammie Photo Collection was acquired by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Museum of African-American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

. In 2017,

the Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of the ...

(MoMa) exhibition titled “Is Fashion Modern?” includes his photography of

. In 2017,

exhibition titled “More Than A Picture” includes his photography acquired from the Eyejammie Photo Collection. In 2018, The Smithsonian exhibition titled “Represent” includes his hip-hop photography of

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

, and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

. This exhibition showcases different photographs than those displayed at The Smithsonian's exhibition in 2017. In June 2018, Bond Street Print Shop photography exhibition fundraiser to benefit

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

including print sales of his portrait photography. In 2019, The Annenberg Space For Photography in Culver City, California hosted an exhibit entitled Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop, based upon the contents of the book in association with the museum's 10th anniversary. The exhibit included his photography. In 2020, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop was exhibited at the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

in New York as part of the inauguration of the ICP's new location at 79 Essex Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Books

In Ya Grill: The Faces of Hip Hop. The hip-hop photography of Michael Benabib
Billboard Books. 2007. .

References

Citations

Books

# Bill Adler; Dan Charnas (2011).
Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label
'. Random House Incorporated. . # Paola Antonelli; Michelle Millar Fisher (5 October 2017).
Items - Is Fashion Modern?
'. Moma. . # Tommy Hilfiger; David A. Keeps (1997)
All-American: A Style Book
Universe Pub. .

General References

# Sussex Publishers, LLC (1996-06)
Spy
Sussex Publishers, LLC. pp. 32, 33, 34, 35, 70.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

08901759 # Elinor Lipman (2017-02-14)
On Turpentine Lane
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. cover photo. . # Editors of Entertainment Weekly (2015-10-06)
The Must List: Ranking the Best in 25 Years of Pop Culture
Liberty Street. p. 560. . # Minya Oh; Andrea Duncan Mao (2005-08-10)
Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels
Wenner Books. p. 140. . # Reggie Osse; Gabriel Tolliver (2006-10-31)
Bling: The Hip-Hop Jewelry Book
Bloomsbury USA. # Cey Adams; Bill Adler (2008-10-14). DEFinition
The Art and Design of Hip-Hop
HarperCollins. .
Black Enterprise
E.G. Graves Publishing Company. 1999–12. p. 124. # Jay-Z (2010-12-07)
Decoded (Enhanced Edition)
Random House Publishing Group. p. 349. . # Michael W. Small (1992)
Break it Down: The Inside Story from the New Leaders of Rap
Carol Pub. p. 223. .
Que pasa
D.S. Magazines, Incorporated. 1988. p. 5.
Oneworld
New Image Media, Incorporated. 2002. p. 34. # Linda Saylor-Marchant (1992)
Hammer: 2 Legit 2 Quit
Dillon Press. p. 4. . # Andre Stenson; Cloe Anderson; Dan Levine (2006-03)
Avant-Guide New York City: Insiders' Guide to Progressive Culture
Empire Press. . # S. E. Cupp (2010-04-27)
Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity
Simon and Schuster. pp. cover photo. . # Brian J. Robb (2002)
Brad Pitt: The Rise to Stardom
Plexus. pp. cover photo. . # Alonzo Westbrook (2002-10-15)
Hip Hoptionary TM: The Dictionary of Hip Hop Terminology
Crown/Archetype. . # Lili Anolik (2019-01-08)
Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A. Scribner
pp. Author photo. . # Ronin Ro (2009-10-13)
Raising Hell: The Reign, Ruin, and Redemption of Run-D.M.C
and Jam Master Jay. HarperCollins. . # S. E. Cupp; Brett Joshpe (2009-12-01)
Why You're Wrong About the Right: Behind the Myths: The Surprising Truth About Conservatives
Simon and Schuster. . # Stephen J. Dubner (2009-10-13)
Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper. HarperCollins
. # Lauren Groveman (2001–08)
Lauren Groveman's Kitchen: Nurturing Food for Family of Friends
Chronicle Books. pp. Author photo. .
Futures for the Class of ...
Scholastic, Incorporated. 1995.
Hip-hop Connection
Popular Publications. 2007. p. 226. # Anne M. Raso (1992-08-01)
Kris Kross Krazy: A Biography
Random House. p. 56. . # Derek Winnert (1996)
Barbra Streisand
Random House Value Pub. p. 4. .
Television Guide
Triangle Publications. 1991. p. 3.
People
Time. 2005. p. 80. # Jeff Chang (2007-04-01)
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
St. Martin's Press. p. 528. . # James P. Othmer (2011-03-11)
The Futurist
Doubleday Canada. .

External links

* http://michaelbenabib.com/ * https://www.executivephotosnyc.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Benabib, Michael Living people American portrait photographers Year of birth missing (living people)