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Chi Modu

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For the British actor, see Chuku Modu

Christopher Chijioke[1] "Chi" Modu (c. 1967–2021)[2] was a Nigerian-born American photographer[3] known for his photos of various pioneering hip-hop music entertainers which "helped set the visual template for dozens of hip-hop stars."[2] Hypebeast, which interviewed him in 2017,[1] covered his 2021 death.[4]

His career as a documentarian[2] included producing photos for The Source magazine[5] in the 1990s, covering "the entirety of hip hop's golden age."[3] Those whose photo he took include Tupac Shakur, Mobb Deep, Eazy-E, The Notorious B.I.G. and many others.[2] Although much of his American life was based in New Jersey,[2] the majority of his photographs were taken in New York City.[5] Some of these images have been released for sale in the form of sweatshirts, hoodies and other garments.[6] One particularly troublesome of these arrangements was with a Swiss company that "along with" Modu was utilizing "an iconic photo" snapped by him years before.[7][8]

His 2019 response to how would he like to be remembered was "as someone that can look at something and bring the truth out without injecting their point of view into it."[9]

Early life

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Born in Arondizuogu,[10] Nigeria, Modu was a child-immigrant[11] raised in New Jersey. After graduating from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ[11] he attended Rutgers University,[12] majoring in economics[4] (Baccalaureate 1989).[11] The careers of both his parents, who by then were no longer in the United States, were unrelated: statistics (his father) and accounting (his mother).[2]

The woman who would later become his wife bought him a camera as a birthday present, which Modu did not use initially as a professional photographer. This led to his taking formal training (at the International Center of Photography in New York).[13][14][15] It was in 1991, while employed by the Harlem-based[16]New York Amsterdam News, and looking for freelance work that he began his three-decade association with The Source magazine.[6]

He registered domain name ChiModu.com in 1999.[17]

Career

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Modu introduced his use of the word uncategorized in 2013 via "enlarged photographs .. splashed across the facades of buildings in New York."[13] Other locations included "Oslo, Lagos, Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Barcelona and Dubai" and he described these[18] as "Like graffiti, but legal."

When The New York Times reported in 2020 that eight of his photos had months before been auctioned by Sotheby's, they described it as reaping "the benefits of his work from the 90s."[6] It was also noted that, for those who collect, buy or sell music albums, the covers of some of these were photographed by Modu.[6] One subject, looking back, was quoted as saying that "with Chi ... he cared." NPR called him gifted.[12] A 2019[19] review of Tupac Shakur: Uncategorized, [20] a 2016-published "coffee table photobook"[21] containing some of Modu's work described its contents as "contemporary moments that later became historical."[19] Some images he recorded in 1994 were used in 2012 by Rolling Stone magazine.[16]

Controversy

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Modu had valued his 1990s work, and even partnered with a billboard company to display some of these. One such international project reached Finland.[2] Yet, although he "retained the rights to his photographs"[2] and was receiving $3,000 per year in licensing,[22] legal cases existed, including:

  • Over a year after Modu's death, a copyright case whose title includes the words "upon Defendant Chi Modu" was still unresolved; his wife was also named in the court filing.[23] Modu had been using a 1996 photo he took of The Notorious B.I.G. "Biggie" to sell Snowboards[8] manufactured by a Swiss company.[24]
  • In 2022 Modu's estate filed another case. This one involved Tupac Shakur.[22]
  • Copyright vs. "right to publicity."[25][26]

It was claimed in one of the estate-vs-estate cases that in 2018 Modu had tried to increase his $3,000 per year licensing fee,[27] but Modu's counterclaim, as stated in a legal filing, was that "the right of publicity has been abused."[24]

Legacy

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Modu's legacy provides encouragement to other hypenated-Americans:[28] his dual-success in photojournalism and documenting the birth and growth of hip-hop while staying "rooted and accessible to" those from whose midst he came. One family-oriented accomplishment is that, as a result of his activities, "Brooklyn-born Biggie, also known as Christopher Wallace"[8] met his then-future wife and subsequent widow, Faith Evans.[28]

His 1996 image of a hip-hop star "with the World Trade Center behind him"[13] photographed across a body of water[28] was noted for its iconic value[11] once the bay between them was the only one of these four still in existence. Regarding Modu's "I'm not from the hood, but they’re my people" a university Africana Studies co-director said that his works "provided a much-needed counternarrative" to the idea that "rappers were to be feared."[6] The Guardian quoted Modu in 2017, regarding how so many African-American performers[29] "live a very short life" that "it's about what you do with the time that you have."[30]

A legacy by Modu to intellectual property owners is the added caselaw by which they are entitled to license their holdings.[25][31] Two attempts by Modu regarding protecting what he considered his were not successful.[32][better source needed] He's done mentoring.[9]

Personal

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His parents, Christopher and Clarice Modu, who brought their family to the United States due to war conditions in Biafra, returned to Nigeria over a decade later. Modu stayed in America and later married his wife, Sophia, who told The New York Times that cause of death was cancer.[2][12] Modu had five siblings.[11] and two children.[2]

A resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, Modu died May 19, 2021, in Summit, New Jersey, at age 54.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Elaine Y J Lee (February 17, 2017). "Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu on Working With Tupac and Getting out of the Picture". Hypebeast. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jon Caramanica (May 29, 2021). "Chi Modu, Photographer Who Defined 1990s Hip-Hop, Dies at 54". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Matt Grobar (May 24, 2021). "Chi Modu Dies: Photographer Of Tupac, Biggie & Other Hip Hop Legends Was 54". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Dylan Kelly (May 24, 2021). "Chi Modu, Legendary Hip-Hop Photographer, Dies at 54". Hypebeast. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Kevin Wong (August 9, 2017). "Music". Hypebeast. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Jonah Engel Bromwich (November 18, 2020). "Portraits of Tupac and Biggie Receive the Luxury Treatment". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "Notorious B.I.G.'s Mother and Faith Evans Sue Swiss Company for Selling Snowboards with the Late Rapper's Face on them". March 18, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Kathianne Boniello (April 4, 2020). "Famed hip-hop photographer Chi Modu sues Notorious B.I.G. estate over pic dispute". The New York Post. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Jodi Taylor (June 21, 2019). "Chi Modu Is the Man Behind Tupac & Biggie's Most Iconic Photos". Coveteur. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Jon Caramanica (May 31, 2021). "Chi Modu, photographer who defined 1990s hip-hop, dies at 54". ArtDaily. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Life through a Lyrical Lens". Rutgers University. June 14, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Anastasia Tsioulcas (May 24, 2021). "Acclaimed Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu Has Died At 54". NPR. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Amy Kuperinsky (May 23, 2021). "Chi Modu, acclaimed hip-hop photographer from N.J., dead at 54". NJ.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022. studied photojournalism at the International Center of Photography in New York.
  14. ^ Joshua Espinoza (May 22, 2021). "Celebrated Hip-Hop Photographer Chi Modu Dead at 54". Complex. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "Chi Modu". April 13, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2022. certificate in photojournalism .. 1992
  16. ^ a b Abid Rahman (May 24, 2021). "Chi Modu, Legendary Hip Hop Photographer, Dies at 54: He captured some of the most iconic images of artists from rap's golden age including Nas, Ice Cube, Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  17. ^ ChiModu.com WhoIs
  18. ^ Grace Epku (December 16, 2018). "Chi Modu has photographed hip hop's biggest artists". BBC. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Steve Irby (July 31, 2019). "Tupac Shakur, Uncategorized, by Chi Modu". Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Chi Modu (2016). Tupac Shakur: Uncategorized. ISBN 978-8-8985-6531-3.
  21. ^ Ural Garrett (September 15, 2016). "Chi Modu Recalls The Days When Rap Photography Required Street Credibility". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  22. ^ a b Pesala Bandara (June 28, 2022). "Chi Modu's Estate Sues Universal Music Over Photo of Tupac Shakur". Peta Pixel. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "2:19-cv-01946". Free Law Project.
  24. ^ a b Dana Scott (April 9, 2020). "Hip Hop Photographer Chi Modu Wants To Ensure His Rights in Lawsuit Against The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  25. ^ a b Matt Growcoot (June 2, 2022), Biggie Smalls Estate Says Photographer's Copyright is Irrelevant, retrieved November 22, 2022
  26. ^ Jay Quan. "The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate Asks Judge To Stop Photographers' Use of his image". Retrieved November 23, 2022. claiming it violates their rights to publicity.
  27. ^ Edvard Pettersson (May 9, 2022). "Notorious BIG heirs square off against widow of hip-hop photog in image rights fight: The rapper's heirs and an iconic photographer fell out after negotiations to renew a licensing agreement collapsed". Courthouse News. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  28. ^ a b c Christopher Kelley (June 3, 2021). "The Legacy of Chi Modu: A Pioneer in the World of Hip-Hop". CULTED. Retrieved November 22, 2022. Nigerian-American
  29. ^ Tupac died at age 25, about which a 2016 PREview of the book used the word 'truncated.'Michael Namikas (September 13, 2016). "On the 20th Anniversary of Tupac Shakur's Death, New Projects Reflect Continued Interest In his music & life". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  30. ^ Thomas Hobbs (May 10, 2017). "Chi Modu's best photograph: Tupac Shakur lets his guard down". The Guardian. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  31. ^ Joe Gonzales; Brandon Payno (July 18, 2020). "How Four Emerging Creative Influencers Finesse Content in 2019". Medium (website). Retrieved November 23, 2022. greats for photos .. Chi Modu
  32. ^ (a) Trying via the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to Trademark a personal identifier did not succeed: "Chi Modu trademark". Retrieved November 23, 2022.; (b) ditto his attempt to trademark Visual IQ,the name of a pre-existing software package, and a company too. "Visual IQ Raises $12M to Calculate Marketing Effectiveness". The Wall Street Journal. June 26, 2012. The company and the software were acquired by the Nielson people, known for their TV (and other) ratings. The concept of Visual IQ is mentioned (2008) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AIntelligence_quotient/Archive_3#Visual_IQ.}}
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