Drama & Flava

By:   Jamel Shabazz
Text by:   Carlton Anthony Usher, Elena Romero, Diana McClure
Imprint:   powerHouse Books,U.S.
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 257mm,  Width: 257mm, 
Weight:   753g
ISBN:   9781648230967
ISBN 10:   1648230962
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   18 June 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Jamel Shabazz is best known for his iconic photographs of New York City during the 1980s. A documentary, fashion, and street photographer, he has authored 12 monographs and contributed to over three dozen other photography-related books. His photographs have been exhibited worldwide and his work is housed within the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Getty Museum, The Dean Collection and the National Portrait Museum, among others. Over the years, Shabazz has instructed young students at the Studio Museum in Harlem’s “Expanding the Walls” project, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture “Teen Curator’s” program, and the Bronx Museum’s “Teen Council.” He is the 2023 recipient of the Lucie Foundation Award for his achievement in documentary photography, and the 2022 awardee of the Gordon Parks Foundation/Steidl book prize. As an artist, Shabazz’s primary object is to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture .His books published by his long time home publisher powerHouse Books include Back in the Days, A Time Before Crack, Last Sunday in June, Seconds of my Life, Back in the Days Remix, Back in the Days Coloring Book. Carlton A. Usher is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Usher served as Director of The American Democracy Project (ADP), and among his many civic engagement awards is the prestigious Carnegie Faculty Fellow designation. He is certified as both a Historian and Political Economist. Most recently, his teaching activities include courses on Sustainability Studies, American Popular Culture, Student Success, American Political Processes, Diaspora Studies, and Labor and Workforce Trends.  Elena Romero is Assistant Chair and Assistant Professor in the Marketing Communications department of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY). She is the co-curator of Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style at the Museum at FIT. Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style at the Museum at FIT, a comprehensive fashion exhibition and book exploring the roots and evolution of hip hop style coming early 2013. Diana McClure is a contributing writer to the School of Visual Arts’ Visual Arts Journal and Pratt Institute’s Prattfolio magazine and has written for Art Basel, Cultured, Photograph, Afropunk, Art in America, exhibition catalogs, and artist monographs among other outlets. Her photographs are in the collections of The David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture — and have appeared in exhibitions at The Philadelphia African American Museum, Edge Zones Miami, Baltimore Museum of Art, Andrew Freeman Home, and New York University. Diana is a graduate of Columbia University and the New School for Social Research and former part-time faculty in the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from New York State Council on the Arts, The New School for Social Research and the Abhaya Yoga Foundation. Kenneth J. Montgomery has successfully defended hundreds of clients facing charges such as murder, terrorism, conspiracy, robbery, firearm possession, rape, DWI, fraud, drug sales, and other serious offenses in both Federal and State courts. Over the course of 20+ years, Montgomery has built a stellar reputation as a fierce advocate in Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, and Entertainment Law, including transactions and litigation. Renowned not only for his legal prowess but also for his impeccable courtroom style, he was the ideal choice to write the introduction for Drama & Flava.