Eazy E & N.W.A. photographs by: Ithaka Darin Pappas

WIKI

Express Yourself (1989) cover photograph by Ithaka Darin Pappas at MacArthur Park Los Angeles

The largest known existing body of photographs of west coast gangsta rap icons Eazy E & N.W.A. by an individual photographer are those made by the Californian born Greek-American artist, Ithaka Darin Pappas. Between the years of 1988-1991, Pappas photographed Eazy E, N.W.A. and its members a reported 18-20 times.
Pappas began working as a freelance photographer with N.W.A's Hollywood-based record label Priority Records in 1988 and during the next few years documented almost the entire life-span of the group, from their obscure South Central, Los Angeles beginnings to their meteoric rise to controversial super-stardom and their eventually disassembly. He has photographed N.W.A. more than any other single person.
This first session between subjects and photographer was primarily intended to create the record cover for the 12" vinyl cover of Eazy E's "We Want Eazy" (shot at Pappas' own apartment, in Miracle Mile, Los Angeles) followed by a quick publicity photo-shoot of all of N.W.A.'s five principal members; Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Ice Cube, MC Ren & DJ Yella. From this second part of the shooting, one of the most iconic images of N.W.A. appeared, now known as "The Miracle Mile Shot".

Contents

• 1 The Miracle Mile Shot
• 2 Backstage In Phoenix
• 3 Eazy E Skateboarding In Venice
• 4 Media Uses
  • 4.1 Record Covers
  • 4.2 Magazines, Newspapers & Websites
  • 4.3 Films & Documentaries
  • 4.4 Ceremonies
  • 4.5 Books
  • 4.6 Advertisements and Promotional Material
  • 4.7 Interviews Of The Photographer About The Pictures
• 5 References
  • 5.1 Notes
• 6 External links

The Miracle Mile Shot

The Miracle Mile Shot, captured in late 1988, was used as the official press photo for N.W.A.'s platinum album, Straight Outta Compton, and subsequently printed in hundreds of newspapers during 1989, the year of the album's release. Since 2013 (the 25th anniversary of Straight Outta Compton) the image has been republished in Rolling Stone, Q Magazine (UK), The Hundreds, Mass Appeal ^[1], Los Angeles (magazine), Los Angeles Times, Blitz Magazine (Portugal) etc., and was used as the primary backdrop for the entire NWA segment of the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Brooklyn, New York^[2]. The Miracle Mile Shot was used as the DVD cover of the 2015 documentary, Kings Of Compton The Miracle Mile Shot also appears in the 2017 HBO documentary, The Defiant Ones, about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine directed by Allen Hughes. ^{[3] [4]}

Backstage In Phoenix

Pappas was the only photographer invited to a private backstage 1989 tour ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona when Eazy E and N.W.A. were presented plaques to signify 1,000,000 copies sold of Straight Outta Compton, ^[5] the very night Ice Cube opted not to sign a contract with Priority Records, essentially breaking up N.W.A.'s original format as a group. One of these images was published for the first time in Q Magazine (UK) in 2016. ^[6]

Eazy E Skateboarding In Venice

Of the thousands of images that Pappas captured during this period, some of the most unusual were made of February 24th 1989 of a bullet-proof vest wearing Eazy E riding a skateboard in Venice Beach, California. At the time, skateboarding and hip hop were not very linked culturally. Some of these pictures used during N.W.A.'s segment during the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Brooklyn, New York, on the cover of the magazine General Admission ^[7] and published as part of the Contact High Project created by journalist Vikki Tobek in Mass Appeal Magazine ^[8], co-owned by Nas.

Media Uses

Record Covers

• 1989 We Want Eazy (12" Remix) Shot in Miracle Mile, Los Angeles 1988
• 1989 Express Yourself - (12" Maxi-Single) ^[9] Shot at MacArthur Park, Los Angeles
• 1989 Express Yourself - (UK Edition) ^[10]

Magazines, Newspapers & Websites

• 2013 Los Angeles Times - 25th anniversary of 'Straight Outta Compton' by N.W.A ^[11]
• 2014 Los Angeles Times - story by Oliver Gattell ^[12]
• 2015 Los Angeles Magazine ^[13]
• 2015 WTVR ^[14]
• 2015 Consequence Of Sound ^[15]
• 2015 Hip Hop Golden Age ^[16]
• 2015 The Hundreds ^[17] by Manos Nomikos [Sept.]
• 2015 Blitz Magazine (Portugal-Oct. Issue)
• 2016 Rolling Stone - (January 2016) "Class Of 2016" by Andy Greene
• 2016 Q (magazine) - "Golden Age Hip Hop" called written by Matt Mason (January 2016)
• 2016 General Admission - Cover: Eazy E Skateboarding in Venice, 1989
• 2017 Mass Appeal - Contact High Project

Films & Documentaries

• 2015 Kings Of Compton ^[18] - directed by: Andre Relis, Mike Corbera (The Miracle Mile Shot was used as the dvd cover)
• 2017 The Defiant Ones - HBO ^[19](images N.W.A by Ithaka Darin Pappas used throughout film)

Ceremonies

• 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Brooklyn, New York. Several Images by Ithaka Darin Pappas appeared as a backdrop for the N.W.A. segment

Books

• 2017 Beyond South Central (1988-1991)

Advertisements and Promotional Material

• 1989 Billboard Magazine Full-page ad congratulating N.W.A. on 1,000,000 records sold

Interviews Of The Photographer About The Pictures

• 2015 Blitz Magazine(Portugal-Oct. Issue) "Fotografo Oficial" interview by Mario Rui Vieira about Ithaka's early work with NWA ^[20]
• 2015 The Hundreds (International Site) "Meet The Greek-American Artist Who Shot N.W.A’s Earliest Promo Photos" ^[21] by Manos Nomikos [Sept.]
• 2016 Rimas E Batidas (Portugal) "As históricas fotos dos N.W.A., o homem que as tirou" by Nelson Ferreira ^[22]
• 2016 General Admission Magazine - Cover shot of Eazy E and interview with the photographer, by Damien Fahrenfort ^[23]
• 2017 Mass Appeal Magazine "Contact High Project" ^[24]article by Vikki Tobek regarding Eazy E skateboarding photographs