how I inspired the Playboi Carti; “die lit” album cover.
Yep, you read that correctly.
before I was a Bristol wedding photographer.
A bit of backstory.
So, back in 2012, I played drums in my hardcore punk band “Failure To Follow.”
(Fast forward to today - we never actually called it quits, we’re just on an extended hiatus while we all get married, have kids, and move to other parts of the world. Dethpunx never say die!)
Anyway, I digress.
The great thing about this, was that I would book us onto shows to play with some of our favourite bands.
I would then hop off the stage, grab my camera, and photograph the rest of the night. thus combining my two loves of music, and photography. We’d also as part of our live set, bring a body board for people to use to crowd surf on which was always hilarious to see from the stage.
for anyone out there who likes alternative music, some of the bands were;
Terror
MAdball
Don Broco
Stray From The Path
OFF!
We Are The In Crowd
Vanna
Hundredth
Upon A Burning Body
Bleed From Within
Employed To Serve
First Blood
Bleeding Through
Pure Love
title Fight
Gnarwolves
Rolo Tomassi
The Bled
Bless The Fall
Brutality Will Prevail
Desolated
‘68 -
and a bunch more that I can’t remember.
but finally and also more pertinent to this story… Trash Talk.
If you don’t know, Trash Talk are a band known for their wildly explosive live shows. Both the band and the crowd are a cohesive sweaty mass of writhing bodies, all there for one thing. To have a cathartic experience with loud live music, to let loose, and meet a stage dive quota of 50 dives per song, per person.
the image in question.
Due to the high energy nature of a Trash Talk show, I would always be excited to shoot whatever unfolded when they hit the stage.
so on the 30/11/12, at The Croft in Bristol, (R.I.P, gone but never forgotten) and after the ambulance had carted away someone for falling off of the bodyboard during our set, on a 3ft high stage with no barrier, trash talk played to a packed out audience of around 230 in a tiny room that had a max cap of 200.
many, many stage dives ensued, from both the band and the audience. (And myself, with my camera. I’d always get recognised as “Aren’t you the stage diving photographer?”)
The energy and excitement in the room was absolutely insane. There were People launching themselves off of the stage and off of other people stage diving, all before the band had even started playing. Finally, the frontman, Lee Spielman, climbed from the back of the room stood up across the crowd. He made his way to the stage, and proceeded to scale the speaker stack as the band rang out.
All hell was let loose.
I knew exactly what was about to happen, and fought my way over to a good spot where I wasn’t going to get kicked in the head or jumped on. I quickly grabbed a couple buddies, pointed to Lee, and motioned for them to stand in front of me and spot me, in an attempt to protect me and my camera from any incoming flying bodies.
I waited for the perfect moment, when Lee would be at max rotation, and took one frame.
THe playboi carti album cover: “Die Lit.”
“DIe Lit” album cover, by photographer Nick Walker.
Fast forward to 2018, and hip hop artist “playboi Carti” releases his highly anticipated album “Die Lit.”
When I first saw the cover as I was walking past the window of a record shop, I did a double take, as I thought it was my image.
At a second glance though, I could see that it wasn’t. Upon doing some investigating, I discovered that it is however a rad photograph by photographer “Nick Walker.” I believe the process for the final result was shot in the studio, and Carti is photoshopped (comped) in. Nick has an illustrious career shooting music videos for huge artists of varying genres, one of which is Trash Talk.
I’ve seen various discussions online that Carti didn’t even do a flip, and he’s just leaning forward, and has been rotated in post to make it seem like he’s flipping. I like to believe though that this isn’t the case, and they tried to get the cover as authentically as possible.
An excerpt from an article I found reads;
“According to the photographer, the concept of the cover was based around a reference photo of an old punk rock show found by @shaneaveli. Though the original image has never been cited, many fans have speculated that it was likely an old photo of British punk band “Charged GBH” that captures a figure stage diving into a mosh pit. There’s equally similar form in one of Glen E. Friedman’s shot of HR of BAD BRAINS doing a backflip on stage.
But no image is closer than that of @trashtalkhc frontman @leespielman flipping into a crowd during a show in Bristol, UK in 2012 (📸 @ochiuk) The Cali hardcore band are notorious for their chaotic shows, where people get hurt and equipment often gets destroyed.
Spielman really knows how to how to fuel the fire, orchestrating stage dives, head walks, front flips into the crowd, pile-ons, and generally obliterating any distance between the crowd and performer.”
my answer to people who ask me questions about what I think about the image, and if I think they “stole” or “ripped off” my work, is found in that excerpt. I grew up seeing images of punk shows, and of stage divers. and although there is a strong resemblance to my image - I’m not the first person to take an image at a punk gig.
Do I think that my image was a part of that inspiration? It probably was in the mix, alongside other images, yeah. But that results me being in good company.
I did get a sense though, that when I pressed that shutter button, I had taken a special and historic image. I’m proud of my roots, that I started photography shooting analog 35mm/ 120mm film, and grateful that I learned to wait for the perfect moment to take the frame, rather than just blast away on a digital camera and pick the best image after the fact. The sense of accomplishment and reward for me is in my image. I immediately went to my local printers Photographique to get a large physical copy of it made, to hang on my wall.
Part of the other historic nature of my image, is that on the 12th MAy, 2013, The Croft shut it’s doors, and Bristol lost it’s best, independent sweat soaked underground music venue. It was a social hub, and The days when the street outside would be filled with people enjoying themselves, and young up and coming bands, and larger touring bands would come through town, wouldn’t be the same anymore.
It has since been reopened as a more gentrified pub, “the Crofters rights.” Part of the growing gentrification of the Stokes Croft area, and Bristol in general. Something that has caused riots when Tesco tried to open a Tesco metro in Stokes Croft back in April 2011.
In closing…
LONG LIVE THE CROFT!
If you’re planning to stage dive at your wedding, then drop me a message and let’s chat!
Or;
check out some of my other posts about some of the cool weddings that I’ve shot.