LEGENDARY STREET & HIP-HOP PHOTOGRAPHER RICKY POWELL HAS DIED AT 59

Ricky Powell, AKA the Lazy Hustler, AKA the Funky Uncle has died at the age of 59.

Powell was a legendary street photographer who became famous the world over for his photography of NYC’s art scene and the formative years of hip-hop. His most iconic work started in the mid=80s and carried throughout the 90s.

Ricky went on tour with the Beastie Boys during their License to Ill days and often shot NYC legends like RUN-DMC, LL Cool J, Madonna, Basquiat, Warhol, and many more. He transformed his love of New York and photography into a career.

Powell was born in 1961 and started taking photos in 1985. Rumor has it, he picked up his ex-girlfriend’s camera after she broke up with him determined to make something of himself. The rest is hip-hop history.

He stayed in NYC, even as the neighborhoods and communities changed dramatically. He was cut from special cloth, the last of a dying breed in many ways. Up until his passing, he still walked around NYC with his handheld radio. A few years ago, he started to do things like feeding the birds in the park. The loudmouth, often inappropriate, lazy hustler became endearing to a new generation of hip-hop artists and ambitious street photographers.

RICKY from U-DOX on Vimeo.

Powell’s photography was published in several collections, including the retrospectives Oh Snap!: The Rap Photography of Ricky Powell (1998), NYC Street photography…It’s the Joint, and Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005. A documentary, Ricky Powell: The Individualist, premiered in May 2020.

RIP to a true legend. #WESEEIT