Spirit Behind the Lens: The Making of a Hip-Hop Photographer

The collected photographic works of Eddie Otchere, Britain’s foremost chronicler of Black youth culture.

Spirit Behind the Lens takes the reader into the visual world of one of hip-hop’s most enigmatic photographers: Eddie Otchere.

Hailing from the epicentre of London’s jungle scene, this book documents how Otchere crafted the visual identities of house, garage, jungle, drum n bass and hip-hop, working with artists including Biggie Smalls, Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Louis, So Solid Crew, Kemet Crew, Goldie and Black Star.

Accompanied by a written memoir in which Otchere outlines his practice, influence and personal history, Spirit Behind the Lens is not only a history of Black culture told through the work of its greatest and most influential photographer, but a manual on how to navigate the emotional aspects of being creative and an exploration of the romance of photography itself.

Eddie Otchere is a photographer best known for his photographs of the seminal rappers and DJs of the mid 1990s and early 2000s. His celebrated works include portraits of Biggie Smalls, Blackstar (Mos Def & Thalib Kweli) So Solid Crew, Est’elle, Goldie, Omar and many others, as well as his official coverage of the Metalheadz: Blue Note sessions 1994 -1996. He has also worked with major brands, including Apple, Converse, Casio G-Shock, Leica and Spotify. Since 1993 Otchere’s photographs have been exhibited and published worldwide, including on the covers of major international magazines such as Urb, Lodown and Mixmag and on the covers of some of rap music’s seminal albums. He is the co-author of the cult classic novel Junglist (1995, reissued 2019).