Chi Modu Explained

Christopher Chijioke[1] "Chi" Modu (–2021)[2] was a Nigerian-born American photographer[3] known for his photos of various pioneering hip-hop music entertainers which "helped set the visual template for dozens of hip-hop stars."[2] Hypebeast, which interviewed him in 2017,[1] covered his 2021 death.[4]

His career as a documentarian[2] included producing photos for The Source magazine[5] in the 1990s, covering "the entirety of hip hop's golden age."[3] Those whose photo he took include Tupac Shakur, Mobb Deep, Eazy-E, The Notorious B.I.G. and many others.[2] Although much of his American life was based in New Jersey,[2] the majority of his photographs were taken in New York City.[5] Some of these images have been released for sale in the form of sweatshirts, hoodies and other garments. One particularly troublesome of these arrangements was with a Swiss company that "along with" Modu was utilizing "an iconic photo" snapped by him years before.[6]

His 2019 response to how would he like to be remembered was "as someone that can look at something and bring the truth out without injecting their point of view into it."[7]

Early life

Born in Arondizuogu,[8] Nigeria, Modu was a child-immigrant raised in New Jersey. After graduating from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ he attended Rutgers University, majoring in economics[4] (Baccalaureate 1989). The careers of both his parents, who by then were no longer in the United States, were unrelated: statistics (his father) and accounting (his mother).[2]

The woman who would later become his wife bought him a camera as a birthday present, which Modu did not use initially as a professional photographer. This led to his taking formal training (at the International Center of Photography in New York).[9] [10] [11] It was in 1991, while employed by the Harlem-based[12] New York Amsterdam News, and looking for freelance work that he began his three-decade association with The Source magazine.[13]

He registered domain name ChiModu.com in 1999.

Career

Modu introduced his use of the word uncategorized in 2013 via "enlarged photographs .. splashed across the facades of buildings in New York."[9] Other locations included "Oslo, Lagos, Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Barcelona and Dubai" and he described these[14] as "Like graffiti, but legal."

When The New York Times reported in 2020 that eight of his photos had months before been auctioned by Sotheby's, they described it as reaping "the benefits of his work from the 90s."[13] It was also noted that, for those who collect, buy or sell music albums, the covers of some of these were photographed by Modu.[13] One subject, looking back, was quoted as saying that "with Chi ... he cared." NPR called him gifted. A 2019 review of Tupac Shakur: Uncategorized,[15] a 2016-published "coffee table photobook"[16] containing some of Modu's work described its contents as "contemporary moments that later became historical."[17] Some images he recorded in 1994 were used in 2012 by Rolling Stone magazine.[12]

Controversy

Modu had valued his 1990s work, and even partnered with a billboard company to display some of these. One such international project reached Finland.[2] Yet, although he "retained the rights to his photographs"[2] and was receiving $3,000 per year in licensing, legal cases existed, including:

It was claimed in one of the estate-vs-estate cases that in 2018 Modu had tried to increase his $3,000 per year licensing fee,[22] but Modu's counterclaim, as stated in a legal filing, was that "the right of publicity has been abused."[23]

Legacy

Modu's legacy provides encouragement to other hypenated-Americans:[24] his dual-success in photojournalism and documenting the birth and growth of hip-hop while staying "rooted and accessible to" those from whose midst he came. One family-oriented accomplishment is that, as a result of his activities, "Brooklyn-born Biggie, also known as Christopher Wallace"[19] met his then-future wife and subsequent widow, Faith Evans.[24]

His 1996 image of a hip-hop star "with the World Trade Center behind him"[9] photographed across a body of water[24] was noted for its iconic value once the bay between them was the only one of these four still in existence. Regarding Modu's "I'm not from the hood, but they’re my people" a university Africana Studies co-director said that his works "provided a much-needed counternarrative" to the idea that "rappers were to be feared."[13] The Guardian quoted Modu in 2017, regarding how so many African-American performers[25] "live a very short life" that "it's about what you do with the time that you have."[26]

A legacy by Modu to intellectual property owners is the added caselaw by which they are entitled to license their holdings.[27] Two attempts by Modu regarding protecting what he considered his were not successful.[28] He's done mentoring.[7]

Personal

His parents, Christopher and Clarice Modu, who brought their family to the United States due to war conditions in Biafra, returned to Nigeria over a decade later. Modu stayed in America and later married his wife, Sophia, who told The New York Times that cause of death was cancer.[2] [29] Modu had five siblings.[30] and two children.[2]

A resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, Modu died May 19, 2021, in Summit, New Jersey, at age 54.[2]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: . Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu on Working With Tupac and Getting out of the Picture . Elaine Y J Lee . February 17, 2017 . November 17, 2022.
  2. News: The New York Times. Chi Modu, Photographer Who Defined 1990s Hip-Hop, Dies at 54. Jon Caramanica . May 29, 2021 . November 17, 2022.
  3. News: . Chi Modu Dies: Photographer Of Tupac, Biggie & Other Hip Hop Legends Was 54 . Matt Grobar . May 24, 2021 . November 17, 2021.
  4. News: Hypebeast. Chi Modu, Legendary Hip-Hop Photographer, Dies at 54. Dylan Kelly . May 24, 2021 . November 17, 2022.
  5. News: . Music . Kevin Wong . August 9, 2017 . November 17, 2022.
  6. Web site: Notorious B.I.G.'s Mother and Faith Evans Sue Swiss Company for Selling Snowboards with the Late Rapper's Face on them. March 18, 2019 . November 23, 2022.
  7. Coveteur . Chi Modu Is the Man Behind Tupac & Biggie's Most Iconic Photos . Jodi Taylor . June 21, 2019 . November 25, 2022.
  8. News: ArtDaily . Chi Modu, photographer who defined 1990s hip-hop, dies at 54 . Jon Caramanica . May 31, 2021 . November 24, 2022.
  9. News: . Chi Modu, acclaimed hip-hop photographer from N.J., dead at 54 . studied photojournalism at the International Center of Photography in New York. . Amy Kuperinsky . May 23, 2021 . November 20, 2022.
  10. News: Complex. Celebrated Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu Dead at 54. Joshua Espinoza . May 22, 2021 . November 25, 2022.
  11. Web site: Chi Modu . certificate in photojournalism .. 1992 . April 13, 2017 . November 25, 2022.
  12. News: . Chi Modu, Legendary Hip Hop Photographer, Dies at 54: He captured some of the most iconic images of artists from rap's golden age including Nas, Ice Cube, Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur . Abid Rahman . May 24, 2021 . November 23, 2022.
  13. News: The New York Times. Portraits of Tupac and Biggie Receive the Luxury Treatment. Jonah Engel Bromwich . November 18, 2020 . November 17, 2022.
  14. News: . Chi Modu has photographed hip hop's biggest artists . Grace Epku . December 16, 2018 . November 25, 2022.
  15. Book: Tupac Shakur: Uncategorized. 978-8-8985-6531-3 . Chi Modu . 2016.
  16. News: . Chi Modu Recalls The Days When Rap Photography Required Street Credibility . Ural Garrett . September 15, 2016 . November 23, 2022.
  17. News: Tupac Shakur, Uncategorized, by Chi Modu. Steve Irby. July 31, 2019 . November 20, 2022.
  18. Web site: Free Law Project. 2:19-cv-01946.
  19. News: . Famed hip-hop photographer Chi Modu sues Notorious B.I.G. estate over pic dispute . Kathianne Boniello . April 4, 2020 . November 21, 2022.
  20. News: Peta Pixel. Chi Modu's Estate Sues Universal Music Over Photo of Tupac Shakur. Pesala Bandara . June 28, 2022 . November 22, 2022.
  21. News: The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate Asks Judge To Stop Photographers' Use of his image. claiming it violates their rights to publicity.. Jay Quan . November 23, 2022.
  22. Web site: Courthouse News. Notorious BIG heirs square off against widow of hip-hop photog in image rights fight: The rapper's heirs and an iconic photographer fell out after negotiations to renew a licensing agreement collapsed.. Edvard Pettersson . May 9, 2022 . November 23, 2022.
  23. News: . Hip Hop Photographer Chi Modu Wants To Ensure His Rights in Lawsuit Against The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate . Dana Scott . April 9, 2020 . November 23, 2022.
  24. News: The Legacy of Chi Modu: A Pioneer in the World of Hip-Hop . CULTED . Nigerian-American . Christopher Kelley . June 3, 2021 . November 22, 2022.
  25. Tupac died at age 25, about which a 2016 PREview of the book used the word 'truncated.'News: . On the 20th Anniversary of Tupac Shakur's Death, New Projects Reflect Continued Interest In his music & life . Michael Namikas . September 13, 2016 . November 23, 2022.
  26. News: The Guardian. Chi Modu's best photograph: Tupac Shakur lets his guard down. Thomas Hobbs . May 10, 2017 . November 23, 2022.
  27. Web site: Medium (website). How Four Emerging Creative Influencers Finesse Content in 2019 . Joe Gonzales. greats for photos .. Chi Modu . Brandon Payno . July 18, 2020 . November 23, 2022.
  28. (a) Trying via the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to Trademark a personal identifier did not succeed: Web site: Chi Modu trademark . November 23, 2022. ; (b) ditto his attempt to trademark Visual IQ,the name of a pre-existing software package, and a company too. News: The Wall Street Journal. Visual IQ Raises $12M to Calculate Marketing Effectiveness. June 26, 2012. The company and the software were acquired by the Nielson people, known for their TV (and other) ratings. The concept of Visual IQ is mentioned (2008) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AIntelligence_quotient/Archive_3#Visual_IQ.}}
  29. News: . Acclaimed Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu Has Died At 54. Anastasia Tsioulcas . May 24, 2021 . November 17, 2022.
  30. Web site: Life through a Lyrical Lens . . June 14, 2021 . November 17, 2022.

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