Remembering Ricky Powell Through His Most Iconic Images

Honoring the legacy of the renowned hip-hop photographer and ‘the fourth Beastie Boy’.

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It has been officially confirmed that the iconic hip-hop photographer and ‘the fourth Beastie Boy’ Ricky Powell has passed away last night. Leaving us at only 59 years old, Powell left behind a vast legacy of his best-known work with the rock band Beastie Boys and a number of the most remembered images in the history of music.
His manager and business partner, Tono Radvany, shared: “I just want to let everybody know he was a very special man, and he will be sorely missed.”
Powell joined Beastie Boys and Run-DMC for their Raising Hell tour in 1986, and a number of the photographs he took became some of the most remembered images in the history of music. He then became the de facto in-house photographer of Def Jam Recordings and went on to collaborate with others including Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Eric B & Rakim. He released a total of four books and even hosted his own Public-access TV show Rappin’ With the Rickster where he interviewed big industry names such as Cypress Hill, Russell Simmons and Doug E Fresh.

To honor the renowned photographer and his work, we have rounded up our favorite iconic images taken by Powell throughout the years. Check out our selects below:

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