Back in the Days

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.

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.