Picking up my copy of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop by Vikki Tobak 📕 Thrilled to be a contributor and tell the story of my shoot with Mary J. Blige
Picking up my copy of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop by Vikki Tobak. Thrilled to be a contributor and tell the story of my shoot with Mary J. Blige “Michael Benabib Mary J. Blige Brooklyn, 1992...
Read MoreEnjoyed working with JWOWW for Castle Magazine. I met her loving family and contrary to Snooki's portrayal on MTV's Jersey Shore, the reality tv star turned supermom entrepreneur, Jenni Farley is a real class act.
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Discovered never-before-seen photos of Run DMC with Rick Ruben while digging through my negatives
Read MoreAttending the opening party for IS FASHION MODERN at The Museum of Modern Art. A portrait I took of Tupac Shakur is used in the show to illustrate the role of the bandana in fashion.
With my wife Donna feeling honored.
Just attended the opening reception for the More Than a Picture: Selections from the Photography Collection at the National Museum of African American History and Culture where a photo I took way back in 1987 is on display..
LL CoolJ C.1987 Michael Benabib
As a native New Yorker and supporter of the New York Public Library I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to shoot this Photo of the Board of Trustees.
They do the hard work I take all the credit.
Interview and article about The photo shoot for Puff Daddy album cover shoot NO Way Out with Michael Benabib
While on a shoot for Rockefeller & Co in 10 Rockefeller Plaza, I noticed the office was situated right above where the Today show was filming. I watched as Lil Kim & Puff Daddy performed, and made the above image.
I photographed Lil Kim, as well as Puff Daddy, years ago in the height of the 90s hip hop era.
BET "Behind The Label" series features Benabib archive photos of all the major players of UPTOWN Records. Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986.[1] It went on to become one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Featured on the roster were Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Al B. Sure!, and Soul for Real amongst others.
Gary Hood is a rapper, songwriter, engineer, producer, and arranger. He opened his studio at 16 and worked alongside G flowers of MBK Entertainment. A graduate of SAE Instutute, his company, F&R studios is one of the top rated studios in Baltimore. "A self-made man just working hard trying to not be consumed by my city and my streets. I come from the streets and don't want to go back, but most of my music is motivation for this kid that traveled the same road I did. I go by the name of G Hood."
Never turn down a chance to travel.
In March I was having dinner at Indocine, of all places, with my good friend and traveling mate, Finn Olaf Jones. At dinner he invited me to travel on a motor cycle tour of Laos. He is a writer, and I am a photographer, so I knew this would be good. It was a wonderful trip guided by Jim Barbush of www.remoteasia.com.
There I met two friends of Finns’, Andrew and Garland. Off I went in the company of an outgoing group of riders to enjoy delicious spicy and seasoned meals. We met warm people while riding Honda dirt bikes through the fertile country side. Truly a trip I will treasure for a lifetime.
Moynihan Station is to occupy the current Farley Post Office on 34th Street to help alleviate pedestrian congestion for the Amtrak, New Jersey Transit & Long Island Railroad in Penn Station, across the street. While the plan was conceived 25 years ago, ground was broken on the project in 2010 and Phase 1 is expected to be completed this year, in 2016.
Skanska, one of the worlds leading civil construction groups, hired Michael Benabib, industrial photographer, to make images of both employees and of the construction project for a new proposal. After donning hard hats and reflective vests, we entered the construction site – to document the progress on phase 1, which involves installing an emergency ventilation system and new entrances to the building, as well as photograph the empty spaces where phase 2 will begin.
Michael Benabib, industrial photographer, on site, photographing Phase 1 of the Moynihan Station project. Photo by Moth Dust // www.mothdustphoto.com
The James A. Farley Post Office Building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1966, so extra care on this project is made to keep the external façade of the building intact.
Photo by MICHAEL BENABIB C. 1989 Phife Dawg, aka Malik Taylor initially formed A Tribe Called Quest, then simply named Quest, with his high school classmate Q-Tip in 1985; the group was later expanded with the addition of Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A Tribe Called Quest were closely associated with fellow hip-hop acts De La Soul and Jungle Brothers, with the groups being collectively known as the Native Tongues.[3] A Tribe Called Quest were initially offered a demo deal by Geffen Records in 1989, but signed to Jive Records to release their 1990 début People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.[3]
Phife Dawg passed away March 22, 2016, aged 45, of diabetes. Rest in peace.
Never turn down a chance to travel.
In March I was having dinner at Indocine, of all places, with my good friend and traveling mate, Finn Olaf Jones. At dinner he invited me to travel on a motor cycle tour of Laos. He is a writer, and I am a photographer, so I knew this would be good. It was a wonderful trip guided by Jim Barbush of www.remoteasia.com. There I met two friends of Finns’, Andrew and Garland. Off I went in the company of an outgoing group of riders to enjoy delicious spicy and seasoned meals. We met warm people while riding Honda dirt bikes through the fertile country side. Truly a trip I will treasure for a lifetime.
