Ricky Powell is a collector of stories. Whether on the street shooting the daily comings and goings of his beloved New York, or on tour with Beastie Boys and RUN DMC capturing 80’s rappers in front of the Eiffel Tower, or Andy Warhol uptown, standing side by side with Basquiat in a singular moment of modern art. See you may not know Ricky Powell’s name, but you’ve seen his pictures. As a street photographer for the past thirty years, he’s one of those people who has always been at the right place at the right time. His first photo was of geese in a children’s zoo, and since that very first click Ricky’s work has always been rooted in the environment he finds his subjects in. A new documentary on Ricky’s life, called The Individualist, was why I asked Ricky to Take 5. It gave me a peek into a life I’d never heard about before, but felt so quintessentially New York. And as we connected on Zoom, it was clear he’s a quintessential New Yorker… a “lazy hustler” who took me on a wild ride through 30 years of stories. From George Benson to RUN DMC to The Animals, this is a time capsule of a singular life.

George Benson - Footin' It

Run-D.M.C - Peter Piper

Jimmy McGriff - The Bird

Vicki Anderson - Super Good (Pts 1 & 2)

The Animals - The Story of Bo Diddley