Photograph of Marley Marl, Lyor Cohen, Hank Shocklee, and Fran Spero: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Marly Marl, Lyor Cohen, Hank Shocklee, and Fran Spero.

In the top image Marly Marl is on the proper right side. He has a goatee and is wearing a black jacket. Hank Shocklee is on the left side. He is wearing a black shirt, a grey and black jacket with a white perfume bottle logo on it, and a gold cross necklace. He has a mustache. Hank and Marly Marl and shaking hands and are facing the camera.

In the bottom image Marly Marl is on the proper right side. He is wearing a black jacket and has a goatee. He is smiling wide with his mouth open and is looking at Lyor Cohen. Cohen is wearing a black suit, a grey button down shirt, and a tie. He is holding a drink and a green napkin in his proper left hand and his holding up his right middle finger. Hank Shocklee is standing next to him. He is wearing the same outfit as the top image. He is holding u his proper right pointer finger. Fran Spero is on the proper left side. She is wearing a black dress with sheer sleeves and long diamond earrings. She is looking at the three men. There is a white pole with a strand of yellow lights wrapped around it in the background.

There is a white border around the image. it is thinner on the two sides and thicker on the top and bottom. The back of the photograph has light grey text repeated in diagonal lines. There are three inscription by Bill Adler, all handwritten in black ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1989
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Marley Marl, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Lyor Cohen, Israeli American, born 1959
• Subject of: Hank Shocklee, American
• Subject of: Francesca Spero, American, 1959 - 2014
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 16 1/16 × 10 15/16 in. (40.8 × 27.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Overall Image): 14 × 10 in. (35.5 × 25.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Top Image): 6 3/4 × 10 in. (17.1 × 25.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Bottom Image): 7 1/16 × 10 in. (18 × 25.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2015.132.99
• 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.