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Ricky Powell, Celebrated Hip-Hop Photographer and ‘Fourth Beastie Boy,’ Passes Away at 59

Posted by Aekey on 2/4/2021 to Hip Hop News
Ricky Powell, Celebrated Hip-Hop Photographer and ‘Fourth Beastie Boy,’ Passes Away at 59

Ricky Powell, Celebrated Hip-Hop Photographer, and ‘Fourth Beastie Boy,’ Passes Away at 59


Ricky Powell, the revered hip-hop photographer best known for his association with Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 59, eliciting an outpouring of tributes from Q-Tip, Chuck D, Questlove, and more.

Powell’s manager and business partner Tono Radvany confirmed his death to Complex Monday night, February 1st. “I just want to let everybody know he was a really special man, and he is going to be sorely missed,” Radvany said. No explanation for death was given.

Powell spent the Eighties and Nineties documenting NY City’s vibrant downtown music and humanities scenes. While he worked with the likes of Madonna, Warhol, Sofia Coppola, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, he was best known for his work with the celebs of hip-hop’s golden age.

Born and raised in NY City, Powell began taking photos in 1985, and therefore the following year he was invited to travel on the road with Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. The tour helped Powell secure work photographing hip-hop luminaries like LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Eric B and Rakim, although he was always most closely related to Beastie Boys: He earned unofficial “fourth member” status and even got a famous shout-out on their song “Car Thief.”





Other artists to pay tribute to Powell include LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C.’s Reverend Run, the Alchemist, and A-Trak. Along with his extensive photography work, Powell hosted an interview show on New York public access television, Rappin’ With the Rickster. He published several collections of his photography, including Oh Snap!: The Rap Photography of Ricky Powell and Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005. In 2020, he was the subject of the documentary, Ricky Powell: The Individualist.

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