Photographic print of Rakim and friends at Heavy D's birthday party: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Rakim and friends at Heavy D's birthday party in New York City.

Rakim is pictured in the center of the image, seated with four women behind and surrounding him. He wears a dark leather jacket over a black t-shirt with white text and a large gold chain necklace. He looks straight at the camera, not smiling. The four women are all looking at the camera and smiling. They all wear dark clothing and have long hair. The woman on the left is wearing an off the shoulder top and Rakim's arm is resting on her legs. The two women on the right both wear hoop earrings.

On the back of the print is an inscription handwritten by Bill Adler identifying the subject, location, date, and photographer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 23, 1990
• Photograph by: Al Pereira, American, born 1963
• Subject of: Rakim, American, born 1968
• Subject of: Heavy D, Jamaican American, 1967 - 2011
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 15/16 × 13 15/16 in. (27.8 × 35.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 5/8 × 13 in. (21.9 × 33 cm)
• Place captured: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.305
• 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: © Al Pereira Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.