Paris, France. From my book “Living Proof” and story in NatGeo Magazine documenting the international HipHop scene. These guys may look a bit tough to some , yet they were Algerian rappers who very kindly took me into their world in the northern neighborhoods of Paris. Yet when I went in unknown ,this dude pulled out his knife and he put it right to my face. Yes, a moment of fear but I didn’t flinch. Then he gave me a hug and put it to his face and I took the picture. These guys are artists, poets, who are simply trying to express themselves through rap and clearly influenced by the movement started in the South Bronx by artists like Afrika Bambaataa and DJ Kool Herc. To work on this project the first thing I did was to read read read. I read the lyrics of all the rappers I could get my hands on because I honestly couldn’t always get it by just listening to the music. I learned a lot as I always do by digging in a bit and absorbing a culture that was so different from my own. The enlightenment of course comes in finding the basic kernel of humanity in all. We are all dealt different cards. Those who are born into oppression will express themselves by any means possible and rap originally was the artistic expression of the oppressed. Later of course rap ironically became commercialized and went mainstream as did the blues. It all goes back to the picture posted before this. A sequence of historical events creating an art form not to be denied. Some people ask me ” how, why, do you go into these dangerous neighborhoods?” My feeling is that if you treat people with respect , respect comes right back to you. Sure, you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time as anywhere. Yet it’s the job of documentary photographers to at least try to get it right. With respect .#hiphop #rappers #paris @magnumphotos