The Art of Hip Hop brings the Smithsonian’s Eyejammie Hip-Hop Photo Collection to Miami, in partnership with Monster Energy. This photo collection was created during the 80s, when Bill Adler was the director of publicity at Def Jam Recordings, began working with several talented photographers, documenting hip-hop in all its forms. From March 22, 2025, visitors to Miami’s Wynwood Arts District will be able to view a selection of hip-hop photography.

The Smithsonian’s Eyejammie Hip-Hop Photo Collection

During the 80s, when Bill Adler was the director of publicity at Def Jam Recordings, he first began working with several talented photographers who were documenting hip-hop in all its forms. Adler said:

Something about the culture’s astonishing vitality and visual appeal began catching the eyes of these photographers in the Seventies, even before anybody began making rap records.

And the quality of those images ultimately played a huge role in the promotion of hip-hop globally.

In 2003, Adler doubled down on his longstanding appreciation of the work by establishing the Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery, which was devoted to hip-hop photography. Some eight years after the gallery’s closing in 2015, The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture acquired 400 Eyejammie photo prints by 59 different photographers.

The Art of Hip Hop in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District

From March 22, 2025, The Art of Hip Hop in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District will reveal a selection of these photographs back to the light in a new, immersive and interactive way that has never been done before.

Speaking of the collection, Allison Freidin, co-founder of The Art of Hip Hop, said:

We need to teach the next generation about history in a way they want to learn it – in an environment that authentically conveys important cultural information that also looks cool on their TikTok page.

Among the immersive elements of the show, rare ephemera, such as a white 1986 Mercedes, reminiscent of rapper Rakim’s iconic “Benzeeto” that he posted with in 1988 during a photoshoot with Michael Benabib in the heart of New York City’s Bleeker Street.

With the exception of the work of Janette Beckman, The Art of Hip Hop’s lead curator Alan Ket selected images from photographers whose works have never been exhibited in Miami or the exhibition’s other pop-ups in Austin, TX, and Seoul, South Korea.

Hip-hop immortals in the exhibition

Among the iconic images, vintage portraits will be included of hip-hop immortals like Sylvia Robinson, Run-DMC, Flavor Flav, Bun B, Cypress Hill, Eazy E, Dondi White, Slick Rick, T.I., Pitbull, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, and David Banner. Moreover, images will be included of some of the reggae greats whose work preceded and was influential to hop-hoppers, starting with Lee “Scratch” Perry

Meanwhile, the celebrated photographers who captured these portraits include Harry Allen, Michael Benabib, Adrian Boot, Julia Beverly, Brian Cross, Al Pereira, Sebastian Piras, Ricky Powell, Peter Rickards, Jack Thompson, Val Wilmer, and, as noted, Ms. Beckman.

Moreover, the exhibition has exclusively been made possible through Monster Energy’s longstanding commitment to further music, art, and culture. The

The exhibition is exclusively made possible through Monster Energy’s longstanding commitment to further music, art, and culture. Rakim’s 1986 Koenig Widebody Mercedes 560 SEC is on loan courtesy of The Bunker, Miami’s only Hurricane-proof automotive storage facility.

For more information, visit The Art of Hip Hop’s website here.