Photograph of Erick Sermon, NYC, 1993: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

He is wearing a black t-shirt that reads [ERICK / SERMON] in white, white pants, and a black bandana around his neck. He is also wearing several necklaces, a pinky ring on his proper left hand, an earring in his left ear, a watch on his left wrist, and a bracelet on his right wrist. His hands are raised in front of him and he is standing on a brick street. The photo was taken from a higher angle, looking down on Erick Sermon.

There is a white border around three-quarters of the image. There is no border on the proper right side. It is thicker on the top and bottom. There is a small, yellowing tear on the top from where a piece of tape used to be. The back of the photograph has light grey text repeated in diagonal lines. There are tears at the top from where tape used to be and there is a yellow post-it note on either side near the top. There is an inscription by Bill Adler on the bottom, handwritten in blue ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1993
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Erick Sermon, American, born 1968
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 17 × 11 in. (43.2 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 10 11/16 × 10 5/8 in. (27.2 × 27 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.84
• 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: © Michael Benabib Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.