If you’re looking for the intersection between Hip-Hop and Black magnificence, simply cease. There’s none. As a result of the 2 paths didn’t converge; like graffiti blessed subway trains on adjoining tracks, they got here up collectively as a result of Black girls have all the time been on the forefront of style, make-up, and elegance. Door-knocker earrings, leather-based jackets, blazers, and mid-calf boots, daring iridescent eyes and black-lined lips.
Hip-Hop style is Black girls’s style; from the complete outlined eyelashes to the asymmetrical hairstyles.
Full cease.
They birthed the motion with the second, and now they’re reclaiming what has all the time been rightfully theirs. Suppose you created a Venn diagram between Hip-Hop and a few of the most iconic moments within the tradition. In that case, you’d have mad overlap between two names: Thembisa S. Mshaka and Ashunta Sheriff, who’ve joined forces to type Hip-Hop Magnificence Circa 1973, which debuted a photograph exhibition on December 5 throughout Artwork Basel 2025 in Miami.
The curation, in partnership with Gen Artwork, was a tribute to all of the Black girls who’ve helped form a cultural phenomenon, particularly highlighting the contributions from photographer and Creator of A Few Good WMN Cheryl Fox, and Mazi Smazi, a multi-disciplinary artist, featured within the NY Occasions.
“Let’s get again to the essence, as a result of the essence is the imagery. We mentioned we’re going to deliver this to the world stage and we’re simply going to take it to the artwork world. And so right here we’re,” Thembisa Mshaka, co-founder of Hip-Hop Magnificence, mentioned on the opening evening. “We knew that we had nice photographers between the 2 of us, as a result of we’ve executed a lot marketing campaign work, editorial work, album packages, we knew we had individuals who had archival art work and we mentioned, ‘let’s showcase that’ and that gave us one other strategy to help girls artists.”
The exhibition pays tribute to Hip-Hop’s lineage by portraiture, archival nods, and immersive design, mixing retro sensibilities with futuristic power—similar to the tradition it celebrates. Utilizing LED shows, cutting-edge codecs, and AI-assisted portrait work that enhances fairly than replaces human artistry, Hip-Hop Magnificence connects eras whereas staying true to the craft.
In the long run, Hip-Hop Magnificence Circa 1973 isn’t simply an exhibit—it’s a reclamation, a reminder, and a revival. It restores Black girls to the middle of a tradition they helped construct, framing their fingerprints not as footnotes however as foundations. As the photographs glow throughout LED partitions and archival reminiscences pulse with new life, the message is unmistakable: Hip-Hop has all the time worn a Black girl’s face. And now, with their tales elevated to the artwork world’s essential stage, the world is lastly being requested to look—actually look—on the girls who formed the type, the sound, and the soul of the tradition.
