The title is clear, Ghost Notes: Music of the Unplayed is Brian Cross‘s photographic project that talks about the turbulent ascent of rap and includes names as Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and others. Today this movement is well established and rooted but in the past, as we all know, it was a badly seen genre that spoke of a “dangerous” world made by dangerous people. Nothing special in reality, every counterculture at the beginning unleashes indignation and scandal: just think of the punk or the rock itself, up to the current trap.

The photographer, director, author and professor Brian Cross aka B + has created covers of iconic albums such as Soul on Ice by Ras Kass, Endanglinging by DJ Shadow. Ghost Notes presents over 200 photos and is a sort of summary of his career and his travels. From Los Angeles, Cairo, Egypt and Kingston, in Jamaica, the photos are joined by more elements that can create a visual narration, a story to discover, especially if you are fans of the genre.

What story are we talking about?

Cross was born in Limerick, Ireland, he became passionate about rap after hearing Schooly D and Public Enemy in the late 80s, after graduating he moved to California to study photography. It’s Not About in Salary is his first work on the rap culture that explores socio-political messages of the scene of L.A. Interviews and photographs go to document that unique moment of the music scene and cultural context of those years, and include from Watts Prophets and Toddy Tee to Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill up to Freestyle Fellowship.

After this first interesting work, Cross worked as a photojournalist at Rap Pages and Wax Poetics and founded a production company (Mochilla) with the famous photographer Eric Coleman. Telling an unrepeatable moment-movement is always a great challenge, which would not be successful if there was not a great passion behind it, that never dies.