15 Books Published by Rizzoli on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Explores the powerful ways in which visual art has long provided its own rich outlet for protest, commentary, escape, and perspective for African Americans.

This important book showcases the potent role of visual art in African American history and culture. Featuring Black artists working in a range of media, from photography to sculpture to painting—including Amy Sherald, Benny Andrews, Sheila Pree Bright, Bisa Butler, Charles Alston, Elizabeth Catlett, Shaun Leonardo, and David Hammons, to name just a few—the book considers art that exemplifies resilience in times of conflict, as well as the ritual of creation, and the defiant pleasure of healing.

Reckoning, based on the exhibition of the same name at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), explores the ongoing struggles Black Americans have faced in their pursuit to enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms promised in the Constitution to citizens of the United States. Drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, the featured works respond to the dual crises of Covid-19 and systemic racism that shaped 2020, a period that has been called one of reckoning, as the world witnessed the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans, leading to some of the largest protests in US history.

Co-authored by Hip-Hop legend LL COOL J, acclaimed journalist Vikki Tobak and Rock The Bells’ editorial director Alec Banks, this momentous volume celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the influential culture, sound, and preeminent voices of American Hip-Hop music.

LL COOL J Presents The Streets Win commemorates the birth, rise, and progression of Hip-Hop’s culture and its indisputable impact on American music over the past fifty years. Vikki Tobak, Alec Banks and LL COOL J reveal the journey of this music genre through rarely seen photographs of Hip-Hop from its inception, from block party performances to street shots, parties, sessions at recording studios, and more. The imagery is accompanied by first-person recollections from Hip-Hop’s MCs, B-Boys, graffiti artists, and DJs who share how they fell in love with Hip-Hop, broke into the business, their artistic and personal style inspiration, and their views on Hip-Hop’s culture and music. Stories are told by icons DJ Kool Herc, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, KRS-One, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and more.

Each page features a treasure trove of images by celebrated Hip-Hop photographers including Joe Conzo Jr., Ernie "Brother Ernie" Paniccioli, Jonathan Mannion, Janette Beckman, Estevan Oriol, Jamel Shabazz, Mike Miller, Clay Patrick McBride, and others who documented the growth; ephemera such as album covers, notebook drawings, and lyrics; party announcements; street scenes; clothing; and graffiti art. This definitive volume of the most important origin stories from the last fifty years of Hip-Hop is the perfect gift for music and photography fans.

In honor of Bob Marley’s seventy-fifth birthday, this glorious oversize book collects more than 150 photographs that celebrate the life and influence of the forefather of reggae and one of the greatest musical and sociopolitical icons of twentieth-century pop culture.

Drawing exclusively on photos in the Marley family archives, the book mixes the iconic and the intimate, bringing together striking images of Marley as a performer onstage with unseen glimpses into his creative process in and out of the studio and his family life in Jamaica. Making the most of its oversize pages, the book is designed as a monument to his influence.

Focusing on the last decade of his life—the period of his greatest worldwide fame—and with excerpts from unpublished interviews and prophetic quotes alongside the images, this is a definitive portrait of one of the great artists of the twentieth century made by those who knew him best.

One hundred years after the Harlem Renaissance emerged as a creative force at the close of World War I, I Too Sing America offers a major survey on the visual art and material culture of the groundbreaking movement.

It illuminates multiple facets of the era—the lives of its people, the art, the literature, the music, and the social history—through paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and contemporary documents and ephemera. The lushly illustrated chronicle includes work by cherished artists such as Romare Bearden, Allan Rohan Crite, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Archibald Motley, and James Van Der Zee.
The project is the culmination of decades of reflection, research, and scholarship by Wil Haygood, acclaimed biographer and preeminent historian on Harlem and its cultural roots. In thematic chapters, the author captures the range and breadth of the Harlem Reniassance, a sweeping movement which saw an astonishing array of black writers and artists and musicians gather over a period of a few intense years, expanding far beyond its roots in Harlem to unleashing a myriad of talents upon the nation. The book is published in conjunction with a major exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Filled with more than 250 images of artists including Ice Cube, The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Naughty by Nature, Public Enemy, 50 Cent, N.W.A, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Kim, Flavor Flav, Lauren Hill, Queen Latifah, TLC, many that have never before been published, this book is set to become the new hip-hop photography bible.

With exclusive, behind-the-scenes access, preeminent photographer Brother Ernie captures the last four decades of the evolution of hip-hop—the styles that grew from it, and the artists who shaped it. Complete with Brother Ernie’s personal anecdotes of time spent with subjects, and stories behind the photographs, Hip-Hop at the End of the World shares intimate moments from the most important era of hip-hop.

After picking up a camera in 1973 to document the graffiti art that dominated New York City, Ernest Paniccioli started his journey of whole-heartedly capturing the scene during the most fertile years of hip-hop. Always armed with a 35mm camera, he successfully photographed nearly every rapper of note since the genre’s inception, making him the go-to photographer for magazines like Word Up and Rap Masters. Hip Hop at the End of the World is a carefully curated selection of photographs from Brother Ernie’s extensive archives, celebrating over 40 years of swag in one of the most complete records of the most crucial movements in American music.

An inspirational journey through black fashion in America from the twentieth century to the present, featuring the most celebrated icons of Black style and taste.

One of the few surveys of Black style and fashion ever published, How to Slay offers a lavishly illustrated overview of African American style through the twentieth century, focusing on the last thirty-five years. Through striking images of some of the most celebrated icons of Black style and taste, from Josephine Baker, Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, and Miles Davis to Rihanna, Naomi Campbell, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams, this book explores the cultural underpinnings of Black trends that have become so influential in mainstream popular culture and a bedrock of fashion vernacular today. A preponderance of Black musicians, who for decades have inspired trends and transformed global fashion, are featured and discussed, while a diverse array of topics are touched upon and examined—hats, hair, divas, the importance of attitude, the use of color, ’60s style, the influence of Africa and the Caribbean, and the beauty of black skin.

"The new book Schiaparelli and the Artists, out October 3 from Rizzoli, traces the exchange of ideas between Schiaparelli’s flashy aesthetic and a long list of artists who inspired her work, including Dal�, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Ren� Magritte."
—New York Magazine

"This is the first definitive work dedicated to the shared inspiration between the designer and her circle of artist friends, featuring never-before-seen photography, intimate anecdotes, and essays penned by some of today’s most authoritative fashion critics and personalities."
—The Society Diaries

"This beautifully illustrated book delves into Elsa Schiaparelli’s relationships and collaborations with some of history’s most revered artists - from Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso to Man Ray and Jean Cocteau - including such legendary works as Schiaparelli’s lobster dress."
—Editorialist

"Schiaparelli and the Artists is both coffee table book and a book that demands to be read. Visually and intellectually stimulating."
—New York Journal of Books

"The definitive homage to one of the twentieth century’s most innovative and boundary-pushing fashion designers comes just in time to commemorate the house’s ninetieth anniversary. Includes never-before-seen photography, anecdotes and essays exploring her collaborations with the likes of Dal�, Pablo Picasso and Warhol."
—Indulge Magazine

The story of Snoop’s musical and spiritual journey to Jamaica, reaching its culmination during the recording of his most recent album and captured in VICE and Snoopadelic Films documentary Reincarnated.

Immediately following the death of longtime friend and collaborator Nate Dogg, Snoop headed to Jamaica to regroup and record his twelfth album. There, he experienced a radical transformation from hip-hop god and legendary leader of the West Coast gang rivalry to Rastafarian spokesperson Snoop Lion, embracing non-violence and reggae. This book is an extension of this powerful moment in the life of a pop culture icon captured on film by VICE Global Editor Andy Capper.

Includes extended interviews with Bunny Wailer, Louis Farrakhan, Chris Blackwell, Daz Dillinger, Angela Hunte, and conversations between Snoop and VICE—never-before-seen photographs and untold stories from his personal archives from his early days singing in church to his discovery at sixteen by Dr. Dre and his phenomenal life onstage and on tour to his gang involvement, behind-the-scenes stills from ’insider’ LA photographer Willie T., the best of Snoop from the inimitable VICE archives, and Snoop’s handwritten notes and nicknames for the characters along the way. It also includes the limited edition vinyl only given to a select few musical insiders before the album’s release.

A sumptuous monograph tracing the life and legacy of fashion luminary Oscar de la Renta. In October 2014 one of the fashion world’s champions, Oscar de la Renta, passed away, a great loss brightened by the innumerable successes of his half-century reign. The acclaimed fashion designer dressed first ladies from Kennedy to Obama, and celebrities from Beyonc� to Sarah Jessica Parker. Renowned for his unique charm, impeccable taste, and original lifestyle, he married the highest standards of French couture with the ultimate motivation that women must look and feel beautiful.
In this intimate volume, longtime editor and friend Andr� Leon Talley recounts de la Renta’s journey through nearly 70 iconic dresses, mainly made for private clients, accompanied by fascinating stories of the exquisite craftsmanship and the legendary friends that brought each gown to life. Born in the Dominican Republic in 1932, de la Renta left for Madrid at nineteen to study art, where he rose to prominence as a sketch artist for newspapers and fashion houses. From his apprenticeship under Crist�bal Balenciaga to his eponymous collections, the designer’s simple lines elevated with a flamenco dancer’s flourish reflect his deep connection to his roots and his commitment to transcendence through beautiful garments.

A pictorial tribute to one of the sexiest faces in rock and roll, including photographs spanning Kravitz’s time in the public eye, from his earliest days kicking around in New York City in the 1980s to traveling the world; from shots of Lenny composing in hotel rooms to performing in front of massive crowds; and from fashion shoots to intimate personal settings.

A selectively curated overview of the little black dress in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, organized by Vogue contributing editor and fashion force Andr� Leon Talley and published on the occasion of an exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah College of Art and Design), Andr� Leon Talley Gallery. Featuring an impeccably selected group of about sixty dresses from many of the most eminent fashion houses, the book is a celebratory tribute to the iconic little black dress and its deeply resonant cultural and social significance in the modern era.

Defined by the simplest parameters—color and shape—yet voluminous in possibility, the little black dress is personalized by the designer who imagined it and the woman who wears it. In one silhouette it can capture a woman’s allure, and in one evening worn provide her with a reservoir of memories. It can sum up in one wardrobe reconnaissance the way you wore the way you were. A little black dress in any other color could dent a reputation; in black it can only elevate one. Whether made from the most superior fabrics, or designed in cutting-edge neoprene, the little black dress maintains its status as the game-changer, the free spirit and pleasure-seeker (Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy in Breakfast at Tiffany’s), the career-launcher (Elizabeth Hurley in Versace), the going-for-broke risk-taker (Virginie Gautreau as Madame X), inevitably revealing truths about the women who have chosen to wear one.

Three original essays offer personal histories in praise of the little black dress. An introduction by Andr� Leon Talley and a foreword by Paula Wallace complete this exquisite volume. Together with a stunning collection of images, this book presents a singularly elegant portfolio.

Based on the best-selling novel and with screenplay by James McBride, Miracle at St. Anna is a visually monumental film about a group of Buffalo soldiers who find themselves behind enemy lines in Italy during World War II. Filmed mostly in lush Tuscan countryside, with cinematography by Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream) and still photography by David Lee (Malcolm X, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) these 100 plus images capture the magic and intensity of this story about redemption and triumph over the bleakest of experiences. Including costume designs, storyboard sketches, text by the director himself, a full script book, and archival material from the second World War, Miracle at St. Anna: The Motion Picture, is not only a visual tribute to this epic, but also to the countless African American soldiers who risked their lives for a country in which they were treated with less respect than the enemy they were fighting.

Hip hop first became a part of the mainstream music industry in the early 1980s, when major record labels released albums from such accessible groups as Run DMC and the Sugarhill Gang. But the true origins of one of the most powerful pop-cultural influences in the world are in the spontaneous, progressive musical culture that grew out of tough Bronx neighborhoods of the 1970s and led to a renaissance of poetry, music, and fashion.Through years of research, writer and curator Johan Kugelberg has pulled together the scattered remains of a movement that never had its eye on posterity. The book includes the improvisational artwork of previously unpublished street flyers of the era, Polaroids buried for decades in basements across the Bronx, and testimonials from influential figures such as Tony Tone, LA Sunshine, and Charlie Chase. Through the work of pioneering hip-hop photographer Jow Conzo–the man The New York Times calls “the chronicler who took hip hop’s baby pictures”–Born in the Bronx presents a unique introduction to an explosive and experimental period in music history.

Controversial cult artist, enfant terrible of the art world, friend of Haring and Warhol, and both idol and a victim of the art scene of the ’80s-Jean-Michel Basquiat was a legend in his own lifetime. This catalog, published in conjunction with the major retrospective at the Lugano Museum of Modern Art, provides an excellent overview of Basquiat’s life and work. As an African-American painter, Basquiat has made a significant impact on the history of contemporary art. From his origins as a street graffiti artist, he became one of the most influential artists of his time: in 2005 his work is being celebrated in seperate exhibitions in the US and Europe. As emblems of the contemporary world, his explosive, colorful, and apparently naéf canvases have an unparalleled force. The brief but intense artistic career of this celebrated proponent of the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s is covered through some fifty paintings and twenty works on paper drawn from prestigious private collections and museums. This book offers a new intense dialogue with the more modern expressions of twentieth-century art.