Mel D. Cole

 

NYC based, Syracuse NY raised self taught photographer Mel D Cole is one of Hip Hop's most accomplished and celebrated photographers with a career spanning almost 20 years. He released his first book called GREAT: Photographs of Hip Hop in 2020.

Great includes both behind the scenes and live concert shots of Hip Hop and RnB superstars such as Kanye West, Drake, Sade, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Erykah Badu, Common, Tyler the Creator, Pharrell, Trey Songz, Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Mos Def, Mac Miller, The Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Mobb Deep, and much more. An extraordinary visual history of Hip Hop and its evolution through Mel D. Cole’s lens, GREAT is a one-of-a-kind coffee table book for hip hop lovers, collectors and lovers of photography.

Before the book and when blogs where a staple in our lives Mel had one called Villageslum.com which was a go to spot to see NYC’s downtown nightlife in it’s black and white glory!

Mel loves sports, specifically soccer, football and the NBA. His love for soccer led him to launch Charcoal Pitch FC in 2019. CPFC is the first Black owned soccer specific photo agency.

Besides Hip Hop and sports, Mel is known for his work in travel, street and documentary photography. Most recently he has been documenting the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in NYC and beyond.