Flavor Flav at the 'Tougher Than Leather' premiere, Oct. '88: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Flavor Flav greeting fans at the premier of the film Tougher Than Leather.

Flava Flav is pictured standing on the left side of the image. His back is to the camera and his face is turned to the right side. He is wearing a red, white, and black jacket and red sunglasses. Across from him is a crowd of people behind a barrier. Several individuals have their hands outstretched towards Flavor Flav. Beneath the image is a handwritten inscription reading ["FLAVA FLAVE" AT THE "TOUGHER THAN LEATHER" PREMIER / OCT. '88 "YEAH, BOYEEE!!!"] along with the photographer's signature [Ricky Powell / '03].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: October 1988; printed 2003
• Photograph by: Ricky Powell, American, 1961 - 2021
• Subject of: Flavor Flav, American, born 1959
• Type: chromogenic color prints
• Medium: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 15 5/8 × 19 7/8 in. (39.7 × 50.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 5/8 × 14 in. (24.4 × 35.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Hair
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.341
• 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: © Ricky Powell Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.