- Photograph by
- Powell, Ricky, American, 1961 - 2021
- Subject of
- Kool Keith, American, born 1963
- Presley, Elvis, American, 1935 - 1977
- Powell, Ricky, American, 1961 - 2021
- Date
- 1999; printed 2003
- Medium
- dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (2015.132.355.1 Sheet): 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
- H x W (2015.132.355.1 Image): 9 1/2 × 14 in. (24.1 × 35.6 cm)
- H x W (2015.132.355.2 Sheet): 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
- H x W (2015.132.355.2 Image): 9 1/2 × 14 in. (24.1 × 35.6 cm)
- Description
- A color photograph of Kool Keith in the photographer's bathroom.
- The image presented is round, with a distorted, fisheye view of Kool Keith wearing a light tan leather jacket and looking into a white hand mirror that he holds with his proper left hand. His proper right hand is behind his head and he wears a black Elvis-style pompadour wig. The back of his hair is visible reflected in the small wall mirror behind him. The room is a small, white walled bathroom. The walls have been covered in posters and magazine tear-outs of sports stars, musicians, and women. A grey metal pipe runs vertically to the right of the wall mirror and the top of a toilet is visible in the lower right corner of the image. Keith stands below the shower curtain rod, from which hang one red and one white towel.
- There are two identical prints, 2015.132.355.1 and 2015.132.355.2. Beneath the image of .1 is a handwritten inscription reading ["KOOL KEITH" / "BLACK ELVIS" WHAT HAVE YOU... / IN MY BATHROOM '99 ... WHAT IS THIS, A BEAUTY SALON?] along with the photographer's signature [Ricky Powell / '03]. The second print has no inscriptions, front or back.
- Place captured
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Eyejammie Hip-Hop Photography Collection
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- chromogenic color prints
- Topic
- Hair
- Hip-hop (Music)
- Musicians
- Photography
- Rappers (Musicians)
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.132.355.1-.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Ricky Powell
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




