'The Mash Up' remixes hip-hop photos with graffiti

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - 'The Mash Up: Hip-Hop Photos Remixed by Iconic Graffiti Artists,' is the brainchild of Cey Adams and Janette Beckman.

Beckman is a photographer who captured London's late-70s punk-rock scene when she was just out of art school.

Punk soon gave way to hip-hop - and now her photo archive of the genres most-legendary artists as they were just starting out - serves as a visual monument to the birth of a cultural movement.

Adams is a visual artist whose work now hangs in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. He first made his name as Def Jam Records first-ever creative director in the 80s.

In the spirit of The Mash-Up, I decided to pass the mic to Janette and Cey. They interviewed three of the artists whose work they considered vital to the project’s success.

First up - graffiti forefather 'Jester'.

In the late 1970s, just as lots of people were starting to get into graffiti, the birth of Jester's first daughter prompted him to get out.

At the time, the idea there would ever be money or widespread critical acclaim in tagging or graffiti-writing was simply unthinkable.

Times have definitely changed. But Jester's influence can be seen everywhere in the artists who followed. Making sure the art form's evolution is accurately documented is something Chino naturally gravitated to.

Fascinated by graffiti art since his childhood, and a tagger himself, he's become one of its pre-eminent historians and most-effective evangelists.

His dedication to the craft is visible in both his own work and his love of the contributions of his peers. Its why Cey Adams knew his inclusion in the project was essential.

Claudia Gold- aka Claw Money- talented, bold and street smart used being a woman in the mostly-male world of street art to her benefit.

There's no missing her brilliant take on this classic photo of Salt n' Pepa.

It's one of many fresh perspectives - on a moment in time - that only seems to grow in importance with each passing year.