News

Hip Hop Legends Head To Sound City

• 31st Mar 2010

Legendary American photographer and author of hip hop culture Ernie Paniccioli is coming to Liverpool to raise the curtain on a series of events on the night preceding the opening of Liverpool Sound City.

Ernie will launch a major photographic exhibition of his work at FACT gallery in Liverpool on 18th May (6.30pm-8.30pm) which will continue to run for one month. Ernie will also partake in an exclusive Q&A at the opening event along with his friend and one of the original legends of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa.

Liverpool Sound City also announces their second movie screening as part of the festival, with the UK premiere of The Other Side of Hip Hop: The Sixth Element directed by Dion Michael Ashman, which details the life, art, politics and work of hip hop photographer and author Ernie Paniccioli, and also stars Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, Flava Flav, MC Lyte and Russell Simmons.

Following this unique event Bambaataa will be performing a rare DJ set at The Masque on Seel Street, Liverpool where he will be joined by local stars, DJ Olabean, Nikki Blaze and Caktus..13.

Ernie Paniccioli is regarded to be the premier “Hip-Hop photographer in America”. Paniccioli first made his foray into the culture in 1973 when he began capturing the ever-present graffiti art dominating New York City. Armed with a 35-millimeter camera, Paniccioli has recorded the entire evolution of Hip Hop. Much in the same way Gordon Parks recorded the Civil Rights Movement, or akin to the manner in which James Van De Zee, the documentary photographer of Harlem in the 1920s, met the energy and spirit of the times head-on with his picture-making. From Grandmaster Flash at the Roxy (a popular Manhattan nightclub of the late 70’s and early 1980s), to the athletic moves of the legendary Rock Steady Crew, to the fresh faces of Queen Latifah, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Lauren Hill; Paniccioli has been at the forefront, documenting the greatest cultural movement since Rock and Roll in the 1950s. A true renaissance man, Paniccioli is also a painter, public speaker, and historian. He has also photographed a number of popular figures beyond Hip Hop, such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin, to name a few.

The live line up for Sound City continues to grow from strength to strength. Also announced to the live line-up this week are Wild Beasts who will play the Kazimier on Friday 21st May, they will play alongside Esben & The Witch, Flashguns and Stricken City. Also the hotly tipped, Goldheart Assembly will play a free show at Bumper on Thursday 20th May.

More than 35,000 revellers are expected to attend Liverpool Sound City this year, creating the energy and spirit of this electric music festival on the streets and venues of the city, making it one of the hottest tickets on the music festival circuit. A Festival Wristband is all that’s needed to truly experience what this festival is all about.

Liverpool Sound City impressive line-up is really shaping up with Gil Scott-Heron, Paloma Faith, Ian McCulloch, Delphic, The Maccabees, The Fall, Speech Debelle, Wild Beasts, Field Music, Los Campesinos, The Blackout, Wave Machines, The Sunshine Underground, Hot Club de Paris, Ian McNabb and Chilly Gonzalez to name but a few confirmed as play the festival.