Fab 5 Freddy and Hank Shocklee: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Fab 5 Freddy and Hank Shocklee.

Fab 5 Freddy and Hank Shocklee are standing in the center image beneath scaffolding covered in Public Enemy posters. Freddy is on the left. He wears a brimmed hat and a black and white houndstooth jacket with a black fur trim. Shocklee is on the right in a dark colored coat and glasses. The two men grip each other's hands while looking in the camera. They are standing under a billboard with several "Public Enemy" posters. The two stand amid sidewalk scaffolding, above them the wood clad side of the scaffold has been covered in a row of six identical black and white posters for the Public Enemy album "Yo! Bum Rush The Show." The posters feature the Public Enemy logo of a figure inside a target scope. On the verso is a handwritten inscription by Bill Adler reading [Fab 5 Freddy & Hank Shocklee by Harry Allen]. There is a second inscription by a different hand in graphite reading [FAB HANK / Bill / 3A].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: February 1987
• Photograph by: Harry Allen, American, born 1964
• Subject of: Fab 5 Freddy, American, born 1959
• Subject of: Hank Shocklee, American
• Subject of: Public Enemy, American, founded 1982
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 7/8 × 13 15/16 in. (27.7 × 35.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 9/16 × 12 15/16 in. (21.8 × 32.8 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2015.132.36
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Harry Allen Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.