Back in the Days

yo who said you can use my picture. BOOGIE DOWN BRONX IN THE HOUSE, HIP HOP DON'T STOP. I'M SORRY, THESE PICTURES ARE MAKING ME GO BACK IN TIME!!!!!!

Just when you thought you escaped Bell-Kangols, Sheepskins and the Koch administration, along comes "Back In The Days". Photograhper Jamel Shabazz's vibrant tome is fresher than two-tone British Walkers with the LEE suit to match! More like your man's childhood photo album, B.T.D. is a melting pot of style, attitude and a throw-back to the glory days of 80's Hip Hop fashion. Looking at these pages brought back fond memories of Kurtis Blow and B-boys, Jordache n' Jettas, subway graffiti and shopping on Delancey. Jamel does a great job of capturing the youth of New York in one of the most stylish and important decades in Hip Hop history. It would've been dope though to include actual info (i.e., date, location and names of subjects and/or crews) on each page, but the omissions only help to arouse curiosity. Funny enough, the irony in the era(s) being covered in this book is: no matter what the socioeconomic conditions of the times were, (i.e., drugs, poverty, crime, Reganomics etc.) kids in NY always found a way to look good! Back In The Days is a great book and an excellent reference to a period in Hip Hop history when the word "fresh" wasn't just a catchphrase, but a way of life. --James "Koe" Rodriguez

Growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn this book depicts the look and feel of NYC during this era. Brothers was rocking the shearlings tough, punks was getting their Lee patches taken and the flygirls was rocking the bamboo earings. Before the MTV era (although we did have Video Music Box) was setting the trend for how we looked and spoke, we looked within ourselves and let the streets define whether we were fresh or corney. Jamal represented in this book for real before the word was exploited. One

If you used to sit in front of the TV, after school, watching "YO MTV Raps" and "Rap City", then this book is for you. Just like how Moms and Dads can reminisce about the 60's & 70's, we can finally look back and remember the days when the only debt we had was a pager bill. Bamboo earings, asymmetric hair cuts, converse shoes and "TIGHT" jeans were in style. I usually don't spend over [price] on one book (I'm not that much of a reader) but I HAD to get this one. Definitely, a must have for those rainy days, or when you just want to sit back and "chill".

this book show a true gifted photographer,who has capture picture's from real life experience.I have also seen his work in several national magazines and also at the Brooklyn museum of art.He is truly another Gordon Parks.One never stops lookng back in the past at the fashion and styles of yesterday.