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"When All Else Fails, Spliffs Help" - Shooting Hip-Hop Stars with Che Kothari

The man behind some of the most famous images of hip-hop royalty talks about growing up in Toronto and taking his talent around the world.

Not every photographer can say their photos have wound up at the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica.

Among the hundreds of musicians he has shot, 30-year-old Canadian photographer Che Kothari has photographed Q-Tip, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Erykah Badu, Ice Cube, D’bi Young, KRS-ONE, Nas and Raekwon. He also has an exceptionally close relationship to the Marley family. His portraits have an iconic look, capturing musicians simply as they are.

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And to think it all started when Kothari rolled across the Canadian border to shoot Common in New York. Kothari’s tactics are smart: he snagged Common at a water cooler on set, got the Roots checking out of a hotel in L.A. and waited until 3:30 a.m. at a hotel to get a shot of Chuck D.

This May, Kothari presents an exhibition called 40 Years: A Hip Hop Portrait Exhibition at the CONTACT Photo Festival in Toronto, featuring photographs by New York hip hop photographers Jonathan Mannion and Jamel Shabazz, among others. A staple in the Toronto hip hop scene, Kothari has co-founded the Manifesto Community Projects, a non-profit which brings together community and culture, he also co-founded the Hightop Studio creative agency, where he now works and supports young artists.

While his life-changing work is mostly photographing communities like sadhus in India, his music photography stands strong (even on Instagram). He spoke to us from Trinidad on how Ziggy Marley is humble and what to do when your camera disagrees with you.

NOISEY: When did you start shooting? What was your big break?
Che Kothari: I started shooting when I was 10-years-old with a camera that my mom gave me. I would shoot point and clicks on film, then get the 4x6 prints and plaster them all over my room. I was that kid. I moved to Toronto to study photography when I was 17 and then zoned in on making photography a part of my career and life. When I started working for Urbanology Magazine, I journeyed with them to New York to art direct a shoot with Common. They had a photographer from New York organized and even though I was only supposed to art direct, I rolled across the border with my full camera kit, a lighting kit and a 9 foot white seamless that was hanging out the window… just in case. There was no way I wasn't getting my own shots of Common while I was down there. The photographer they hired was a bit of an older dude and I could tell that the photos he was capturing were stiff. Common took a little break to get some water, and I approached him saying “Hey, I am here as an Art Director for this shoot, but I am also a portrait photographer. After your session, do mind if I get a couple portraits.” He looked me up and down and then said “Yeah man, I like your vibe, let's do it.” So after the shoot with the other photographer, I walked Common over to where I had setup my 10x10 studio and snapped about six shots. When we got back to Toronto, I sent all my work to Urbanology and they ended up using my photos on the cover (merged with a shot I took of Faith Evans a few weeks later) and four or five shots inside the mag. I think they only used one or two of the other photographers they hired. After that shoot, I went on to shoot a lot of covers for Urbanology and other magazines.

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Damn. You’ve shot Ziggy and Julian Marley. What is your relationship like to the Marley family?
My relationship with the Marley's starts with Robert Nesta. I grew up in a house with three older sisters who raised me on Bob's music. His words and melodies run through my veins and keep me fuelled up and inspired. One of my best friends is Donisha Prendergast, Rita and Bob's granddaughter. I met her in 2007 when she was moderating the Africa Unite Youth Symposium in Kingston, Jamaica on behalf of her Nana Rita. We became quick friends and I started taking pictures at all the symposium events - including Bob's birthday celebrations at 56 Hope Road, their family home turned Museum. I had already encountered Marley vibrations though, again through Urbanology magazine when I shot Ziggy at Cherry Beach in Toronto with a group of children. I remember Ziggy was so humble, his publicist was saying there is no way that he can leave the hotel for the shoot, but when he finally heard the concept directly, he jumped in a cab with his guitar and came down to the beach for the shot. That was a truly memorable day.

What did you do with the photos?
I took prints from that shoot to Jamaica and to the Africa Unite Youth symposium. I gave them to Nana Rita Marley and she saw me taking all these photos at her events, she grabbed my arm saying ‘Ok, you are my photographer for the weekend!’ So, I ended up getting some beautiful pictures of the symposium and really building a strong vibe with Donisha, who I would go on to do a ton of other work with: photography, events and community movements. Nana Rita put the Ziggy photos in the permanent collection at the Bob Marley Museum, which is one of my highest honours as a photographer. Through Donisha, I've met and spent time with her amazing mother Sharon Marley and through the symposium I got connected to Nine Mile - Bob's Birthplace in the hills. I developed a strong relationship with community members in Nine Mile and have sparked a few film and photography and computer programs at Bob's elementary school. On one of the visits to Nine Mile, I bumped into Julian and we set a time to do a shoot. We walked around the community and shot for a couple hours at various Nine Mile landmarks. I also got the opportunity to be in the presence of Jr. Gong, who out of the whole family, has this energy that captivates an entire room. Of all places, I shot him at Tuff Gong studio where he was doing a session with Sean Paul, Tarrus Riley and Protoje. I got to be a fly on the wall capturing the moments. I am going to release that photo set as a #TBT on my blog next week.

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Have there been any incredibly memorable shoots? Could you take us back to the experience?
One time I was out in L.A. for a cover shoot with Chingy. I wasn't all that excited to shoot Chingy, but when I got to the hotel and was rolling my luggage to my room, I walked by the outdoor restaurant and in a nice little cove I saw the entire Roots crew chilling having drinks. All of a sudden the trip had so much more purpose. The next morning I woke early and took a dip in the pool, which was in the centre of all the surrounding rooms. Black Thought emerged from his room and headed for the gym, which was just left of the pool. In my head, I am like, perfect - a great place to build with Thought - running beside him on a treadmill. I get out of the pool and as I am walking into the gym, he is walking out and I fumbled on my words to say anything. I had a good workout, and then headed over to Chingy's set to do my shots with him for the day. The next morning, as I was checking out, the Roots crew starts coming to checkout as well. I thought, “Dope, my chance to get a shot.” At this point I am sitting outside the hotel watching each member walk into the bus one by one. Finally, Quest walks out, hair all big and out with a pick in it and eating a bag of Doritos. He jumped in the front seat of the van with the door slightly open. For anyone that knows me, Quest is one of my biggest role models - I love his work ethic, knowledge and what he has created. I mustered up the confidence to walk up to the van. "Greetings Amir, I am a portrait photographer from Toronto and I would love to take your shot." He looks me deep in the eyes and after about 10 seconds says "alright why not"? He jumps out the car and we take some portraits against the palm tree parking lot background. I thank him and start walking back to where I was sitting and as I am checking to make sure I got a decent shot - my camera says "memory error." None of the shots were captured. I was freaking out - I finally got an epic portrait of Quest and they weren't saved. I went back to my camera bag, flip the memory card and walked right back up to the car window, interrupting another bite from the Doritos bag. "Quest, I am so sorry, I don't know what happened, but my camera did not record those pictures. Could we please do this again?". He gave me the exact same stare, and after about ten seconds… "Alright, why not… let's do this!" He jumped out, we shot again and this time I got it locked.

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Do you typically do anything in particular to get a subject ‘comfortable’ with the lens?
I’m just myself. I don't treat them with any crazy stardom status, but I give them the due respect that I would give anyone who I had the privilege of photographing. I let them know that I am here to do a job and that is to get some great images of them - which is in their best interest as it is mine and everyone else who has helped put the shoot together. Sometimes I show them my previous work - so that they know that I am a qualified artist and have a solid track record - that can help build trust in a very short time. Artists respect other talented artists. My role as a photographer is to be both the director and the audience at the same time. If we are doing conceptual stuff, having mock-ups is crucial. Good food, good music and great vibes are always key. And when all else fails, spliffs help.

Has it been difficult or easy to gain access to these musicians? Have you ever had to fight (not physically) for the opportunity, or is that always the case?
I am of the “do it yourself and make it happen” mind state. A lot of my work is a result of me showing up and tracking people down to get the shot I want. I have setup full studios at 3:30 a.m. after Public Enemy concerts in their hotel lobby to get a shot of Chuck D. I've driven for 12 hours to New York without sleep, did a shoot, and then drove all the way back home – just to get a shot. But my perseverance, drive and passion prevail and people can see that I am genuine and so getting access has been pretty solid. I have also had the great support of some amazing publications, promoters, artists, managers and mentors to facilitate a lot of access. It's beautiful because now I am getting to the point where people are calling me to do work and they want to pay me properly to do my job.

What is next for you?
I am really excited about is an exhibition I am working on called 40 Years: A Hip Hop Portrait Exhibition. It is a featured exhibit as part of the CONTACT Photography Festival. It's basically a Che & Friends show, I have reached out and brought together a bunch of photographers who I have worked with, who have inspired me or who I have crossed paths with and that have created some of the most iconic Hip Hop portraiture that exists. I invited my friend Clay Rochemont to co-curate it, and he always helps make things epic. The show will feature Jamel Shabazz, Ernie Paniccioli, Jonathan Mannion, Nabil Elderkin, Matt Barnes, Steve Carty, I and hopefully a few others. That goes down in the month of May in Toronto at the Gladstone Hotel.

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