The Documentary

Photographer Brian Cross is hip hop. The images that flow from his camera onto the album covers of your favorite DJs & MCs are as timeless as the records contained within them: Endtroducing..., Black on Both Sides, Quality Control, Expansion Team, The Craft. If he's not on the cover, he's blowin' up the sleeve. Start looking at those liner notes for B+.

In 2002, B+ had the simple idea of bringing together some of the most revered and notable session drummers from Los Angeles for a photo shoot, and to speak on their famous recordings (at least to the hip hop community) that we’ve sampled, treasured, and contest endlessly.

James Gadson, Paul Humphrey, Earl Palmer, and Roy Porter were thrilled about the prospect of getting together to discuss old times, old friends, and the business. Unfortunately, hip hop's fascination for those "legendary" sessions was beyond the reach of the musicians' memories. Most of the records B+ and crew were excited to talk about were not commercial successes. Factor in that most of these guys recorded an album a week for years on end and it's not hard to see how their memory becomes an elusive fish.

Lucky for us, DJs Babu, J-Rocc, and Cut Chemist are fishermen of the elusive (similarly, they're artists from the City of Angels). The puzzled smiles of the drummers speak multitudes on the perceived gap that exists between the musicians of today and their forefathers. However, lest we forget, these men were progressive risk takers in their respective professions and a few turntables weren’t going to get in the way of a good conversation.

So without further ado, B+'s Keepintime: A Live Recording

For more B+ photography see his photo essay "Like A Wheel". Stay tuned for Brasilintime!

The Game "The Documentary" - The Documentary