Rap Darwinism
One of my favorite assignments so far this winter is my session with Baba Brinkman, the Evolution Rapper. Wired magazine proposed this as a modest still shoot then requested video just before the shoot date. A white rapper doing an off-Broadway show about science and evolution is certainly unusual but the portrait solution seemed almost predestined once it came to me.
I surprised photo editor Anna Goldwater Alexander with this multiple-figure image the day after the shoot, and her response was:
OH
MY
GOD.
the fucking evolution rapper is INsane!!
Which is definitely a satisfying response from a client, although I had to put it in context considering this was her response when I made my own call sheet:
oh WOW!!
I have NEVER known a photographer to make their own call sheet.
I’m aghast with love.
thank you
thank you
thank you.
wow
Top Image: Baba Brinkman in a loving tribute to the Evolution Of The Man graphic, Wired December 2011
Second Image: Shooting our tribute to Evolution, one pre-historic pose at a time.
Video: Shout Out for Evolution, wired.com 1:46 minutes