Photo by Jerritt Clark/WireImage
Photographer Chi Modu attends his Chi Modu exhibition opening at Smile Gallery on March 29, 2012 in New York City.
Chi Modu, the acclaimed photographer who captured some of the most iconic images in hip hop, has died. He was 54.
His death was announced in a post on his official Instagram account on Saturday. “Our hearts are broken. We continue the fight. The family request privacy at this time,” the post reads. No cause of death or further details were provided.
Rising to prominence in the 1990s, Modu became the director of photography at The Source magazine which saw him shoot a host of up-and-coming and soon-to-be-legendary artists from hip hop’s golden age including the likes of Nas, Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and Wu-Tang amongst many others. His iconic black and white pictures of a shirtless Tupac Shakur, in particular, have arguably become the enduring image of the rapper in the public’s c
Chi Modu, iconic hip hop photographer, dead at 54 You’re gonna go any way, at some point––I’m in no rush, I’m enjoying it––[but] when that day comes––way down the road I hope––I know that I laid enough down that people will remember,” said Modu.
Chi Modu has passed away at 54.
Modu is known for taking images of hip hop’s most legendary artists of the 1990s. It was announced via Instagram on Saturday that the Nigerian-born artist had transitioned. According to
TMZ, the beloved photographer died from cancer and had only been recently diagnosed with the disease.
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Chi Modu, a legendary hip-hop photographer known for his iconic images of Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, and more, died last week at age 54 â reportedly after a recent cancer diagnosis. The announcement was made on his official Instagram page. Our hearts are broken. We continue the fight. The family requests privacy at this time, reads the caption on the post informing followers of his untimely death.
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Born in Nigeria in 1966, Modu was raised in New Jersey. He graduated in 1989 with a degree in economics from Rutgers University. While in college, he started experimenting with photography on the side and attended Manhattanâs International Center of Photography after leaving Rutgers. Modu started working in photography at Harlem-based publication