LISA LEONE — How You Like Me Now?
Lisa's iconic photographs in first solo exhibition in Germany

Opening: Thursday Oct. 6th, 7pm–10pm
On view Thursday, October 6th – November 12th
Linienstraße 161 - 10115 Berlin

HVW8 Gallery Berlin presents How You Like Me Now?, a solo exhibition from photographer Lisa Leone. The show highlights the final period before hip-hop’s mainstream cultural influence and global expansion. These rarely exhibited photographs are both a documentation and personal exploration of the grit, audacity and raw creative spirit that has become the aesthetic of 80’s and 90’s hip-hop, its innovators, and the often harsh realism that fueled it.

Born in the Bronx and raised throughout New York City, Leone found herself in a unique position in the late 80’s to early 90’s to capture a behind-the-scenes perspective on the incomparable spirit of collaboration that sparked hip-hop’s early artistic triumphs.

“To see a young Nas in the studio with Q-Tip, Premier and Large Professor was not only inspiring, it is the decisive moment,” Leone recalls of the studio recording sessions of Nas’ landmark debut album Illmatic. Her photos from these recording sessions appear to be the only existing visual documentation of this iconic moment.

The exhibition is also a haunting portrait of the city itself, the setting for a diverse cast of characters trying to find acceptance, acknowledgment and community, captured at the tipping point between the devastation of the 70’s and the rebirth of the 90’s. Leone captures the spirit of an era when a city, fresh cultural voices, and a group of young artists all began to turn toward the future.

How You Like Me Now? captures nascent moments from the hip-hop generation’s biggest stars: Lauryn Hill, KRS-One, Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, Nas, Biggie, Rosie Perez, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Snoop and many others.