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Session Transcript (text opens in new window)
Mochilla Films, Los Angeles, USA
Brian Cross was born in Limerick in the South West of Ireland. His first encounters with hip hop in the early '80s sealed a life-long love affair with this music and culture. As a student of fine art in NCAD in Dublin he specialised in photography and it was after completing his degree that he moved to L.A. to pursue post graduate studies. It was in L.A. that he studied under the supervision of the influential author of City Of Quartz, Mike Davies. Davies encouraged Brian to combine his love of hip hop culture, photography and politics which led to the publication of a book It's Not About A Salary - Rap And Resistance In L.A.. The book featured many of the earliest exponents of West Coast hip hop alongside a political and cultural history of L.A.. It was one of the earliest books published dealing with hip hop directly. The connections he made with the West Coast scene at that time led Brian to photograph everyone from Kool Keith to De La Soul.