Poster Child

 [Click to enlarge]

It's been mentioned that I have fairly cool collection of old school hip-hop paraphernalia. Next to my treasured original copy of Breaking and the New York City Breakers (1984), the poster shown above has probably been the second-most treasured item in the archive. At this late date its difficult to recall what year or from which magazine the poster was removed. But it most likely came from the centerfold of Right On! or Word Up!, as the artists within the poster's borders predate all those who after '87 came to dominate the pages of rap-focused mags--And the Adidas Stockholm jersey worn by DJ Red Alert (#21) kinda' has 1987 written all over it, as far as provenance goes. For such a major assemblage of rappers and deejays, the magazine got major cool points in my book. It also kinda' got the gas face too, though, for not getting MC Shan's (#4) name and actually going to print with a misnomer in the legend. But you gotta' love Run's seemingly irritated expression (#11), the cold weather sportswear -- including Dapper Dan jackets worn by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- and the classic fat gold chains.