Masters of Ceremony: DJ Shabazz, Grand Puba Maxwell, Dr. Who, Don Barron: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of the rap group Masters of Ceremony.

The group is pictured standing in front of a white wall and doorway. From left to right: DJ Shabazz, Grand Puba Maxwell, Dr. Who (Tod Dixon), and Don Barron. Maxwell and Barron are in the foreground, with Shabazz and Dixon behind them. Shabazz wears a knit sweater, Maxwell wears a zipped leather jacket, with the Gucci logo repeated down the center placket and holds a matching Gucci baseball cap by his proper left pointer finger. Dixon wears a dark colored newsboy cap and a dark jacket. Barron wears a Gucci baseball cap, identical to the one held by Maxwell, along with a leather bomber jacket with a large patch on the proper left chest reading [Trooper / Classic]. All four men look directly at the camera. A plain white wall is in the background, with a doorway opening into a dark interior on the left side.

On the verso is an adhesive label with the Eyejammie.com logo and [Title: Masters of Ceremony: DJ Shabazz, Grand Puba Maxwell, Dr. Who, Don Barron / Photographer: Harry Allen] printed in black text.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1985-1986
• Photograph by: Harry Allen, American, born 1964
• Subject of: DJ Shabazz, American
• Subject of: Grand Puba Maxwell, born 1966
• Subject of: Todd Dixon
• Subject of: Don Barron
• Subject of: Masters of Ceremony, American, 1985 - 1988
• Subject of: Gucci, Italian, founded 1921
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 15 7/8 × 19 7/8 in. (40.3 × 50.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 12 1/16 × 17 7/8 in. (30.6 × 45.4 cm)
• Place depicted: New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.45
• 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.