Photograph of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Times Square, NYC, 1987: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Kool G Rap & DJ Polo on a television screen through a store window in Times Square.

There are grey, yellow, black, and red sale signs surrounding the TV. One of the signs reads [1993 / COLOR / PORTABLE / TV's / in / STOCK!]. The image appears to be of a storefront window or a display in a store.

There is a white border around the image. It is thicker on the two sides and thinner on the top and bottom. There is a small, yellowing tear the top from where a piece of tape used to be. The back of the photograph has light grey text repeated diagonal lines facing the left side of the paper. There is an inscription by Bill Adler handwritten vertically down the left side in blue ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1992
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Kool G Rap, American, born 1968
• Subject of: DJ Polo, American
• Subject of: Sony Corporation, Japanese, founded 1946
• Subject of: Panasonic Corporation, Japanese, founded 1918
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 15/16 × 16 15/16 in. (27.8 × 43.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 5/16 × 11 15/16 in. (23.6 × 30.4 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Topic: Television
• Object number: 2015.132.92
• 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.