Gods Of Rap

Article from the BBC news web site:

https://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-50348231

Wu-Tang Clan are seen by fans as hip hop royalty and tour manager-turned-photographer Simon Peter Green used his enviable access to capture the group during their European Gods of Rap tour earlier this year.

Twenty eight of his images went on show at the Centre Circle Coventry Market on Saturday.

“As production or tour manager, I’m the one who keeps the photographer away,” he said. “I know these photos don’t exist. I’ve been taking photos of Wu-Tang on the road and backstage and for that reason they’re so fresh. It’s such a different lens to look at the band through.”

The legendary group formed in New York in the early 1990s and their 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), is considered one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time.

They headlined the Gods of Rap tour in May, playing at 18,000-capacity venues in numerous cities, including London, Manchester, Paris, Oslo and Amsterdam, with Public Enemy, De La Soul and DJ Premier.

The tour was a big hit, with a five-star rating from music magazine NME.

Mr Green said he was a firefighter in Basingstoke, Hampshire, for 20 years before changing his career in 2010 to begin working in the music industry, first as a DJ before progressing to managing and production.

He has toured the world working with other performers including, Pusha T, Kanye West and Duke Dumont, also living for a while in Beverly Hills, California.

Now a photographer based in Coventry, he said his interests included social documentary, visual sociology, portraiture and events.

His exhibition is the first to take place in the centre of the indoor market since it was turned into a permanent gallery space for the community.