His family lawyer told The Times that he died from heart failure.
Powell captured the early stars of hip-hop when the movement was on the cusp of mainstream prominence. His iconic portraits of 1980s Def Jam recording artists Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Public Enemy and especially the Beastie Boys gave this loud new street music a distinct visual presence. And his decade-long partnership with the Beastie Boys produced foundational images of downtown hipster emissaries to global youth culture.
The Beastie Boys doing the Charles St. Shuffle in New York City, 1986.
(Ricky Powell)
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With the loose-limbed baller charm of a New York street kid, Powell moved easily between Black and white New York, his photography style recognizably a product of hip-hop itself: a loose, spontaneous means of seizing the moment with available tech. This point-and-shoot
Feb 02, 2021
Image via Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty
Legendary hip-hop photographer, author, and honorary fourth Beastie Boy Ricky Powell has died, his manager and business partner Tono Radvany confirmed. I just want to let everybody know he was a very special man, and he will be sorely missed, Radvany said.
Though he s done a lot throughout his career, he was best known for the work he did with the Beastie Boys, in addition to capturing a number of iconic images of a range of celebrities that included Madonna, Run DMC, Andy Warhol, and Laurence Fishburne, among others. You can see some of those in tribute tweets if you continue scrolling down. His resume could accurately state that his work was featured in
Ricky Powell, 59, Dies; Chronicled Early Hip-Hop and Downtown New York
Prolific with his point-and-shoot camera, he captured essential images of the Beastie Boys, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Run-DMC, Andy Warhol and more.
The photographer Ricky Powell in 2012. An inveterate walker, he pounded the New York pavement with his camera and snapped photos of whatever caught his fancy.Credit.Janette Beckman
Published Feb. 2, 2021Updated Feb. 7, 2021
Ricky Powell, the downtown New York Zelig who with his point-and-shoot camera documented the early years of hip-hop’s ascendance as well as a host of other subcultural scenes and the celebrities and fringe characters who populated the city, was found dead on Feb. 1 in his West Village apartment. He was 59.
Ricky Powell, a legendary hip-hop photographer who worked with Beastie Boys, Run DMC and many more, has died.
A prolific figure on the New York scene, Powell died of heart failure, aged 59. His manager and business partner Tono Radvany confirmed the news on 1st February, saying, “I just want to let everybody know he was a very special man, and he will be sorely missed”.
A close affiliate of Beastie Boys, Powell was sometimes referred to as the group’s fourth member, having even appeared in the video for ‘Fight For Your Right To Party’. Powell also had a close relationship with Def Jam, frequently snapping artists from the label as their go-to photographer.