Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College partner to mark 50 years of hip hop

KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Don't call it a comeback; August 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop, an influential music genre that continues to impact everything from popular culture to politics. Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College are partnering to recognize the historic milestone by bringing Ernie Paniccioli, the "pictorial archaeologist of hip hop," to campus.

"We are so excited to have Ernie Paniccioli here in Kalamazoo as we honor and uplift the 50th anniversary of hip hop," says Dr. Luchara Wallace, director of Western's Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations. "Hip hop is a cultural phenomenon that transcends age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion - hip hop has influenced every aspect of ... who we are, what we do, how we perceive things. And Ernie has chronicled it all through his lens."

Known in the industry as Brother Ernie, Paniccioli has had a front row seat to hip hop history. He began photographing graffiti art in New York City in 1973 and captured the evolution of the genre over the next five decades, gaining unprecedented access to artists from Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy to Queen Latifah and Jay Z.

"We're always pleased to collaborate and this is a particularly exciting endeavor," said Kalamazoo Valley Community College President L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D. "Hip hop music and photographer Ernie Paniccioli have an important place in history and it's time to shine a light on them."

Paniccioli's vast body of work will be on display at the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Center for New Media and Arcus Gallery from Friday, Sept. 1, through the end of October. The community will have the opportunity to hear from the hip hop historian himself during an evening with Panicciloi at Miller Auditorium on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m.

Western's recognition of the 50th anniversary of hip hop extends beyond this exhibit. Dr. Khalid el-Hakim, founder and creator of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, will teach a course on hip hop history at WMU in fall 2023. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the evolution of hip hop as well as hear from some surprise industry guests. Items from El-Hakim's Michigan hip hop archives will also be on display at the University's new student center.

ABOUT ERNIE PANICCIOLI

Paniccioli, one of hip hop's most prolific and prominent photographers, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947 to parents of Cree Native American and Italian descent. He spent his teenage years immersing himself in the arts and music scenes of Greenwich Village and began experimenting with photography on his 35-millimeter camera after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1971.

His work has been the subject of a number of gallery shows, including the first and only hip hop exhibit at the Grammy Museum Experience, and has also been featured in his bestselling books, "Hip Hop at the End of the World" and "Who Shot Ya?: Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography." Paniccioli's photo archive, which offers digital versions of nearly 20,000 photographs from the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s, is housed in Cornell University Library's Hip Hop Collection.

The artist reception is open from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Arcus Gallery and Mr. Paniccioili will be there at 5 p.m. before leaving to speak at WMU's Miller Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.