Time Before Crack

A Times Before Crack, Jamel Shabazz's follow up to his blockbuster "Back in the Days captures the styles and spirit of an era now carried in the hearts and minds of millions--New York City's street scene prior to the advent of the crack epidemic that destroyed countless lives. Once upon a time before crack inner city communities were blighted by poverty and unemployment--but not by the drug wars that tore families apart, destroying lives with needless violence and mindless addiction. Once upon a time before crack, pride and style were as inseparable as a beatbox and mixtape, or as a pair if shoes and matching purse. Once upon a time before crack, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, working the streets of New York City, capturing the faces and places of an era that have long since disappeared. Best known as hip hop's finest fashion photographer for his blockbuster best-selling monograph, "Back in the Days, Shabazz revisited his archive and unearthed an extraordinary collection of never-before-published documentary photographs collected for his third powerHouse Books release, "A Time Before Crack. A visual diary of the streets of New York City from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, Shabazz's distinctive photographs reveal the families, the poses, and the players who made this age extraordinary.Shabazz, Jamel is the author of 'Time Before Crack', published 2005 under ISBN 9781576872130 and ISBN 1576872130.