Born and raised in New York City, Ricky Powell is a legendary photographer who specializes in environmental portraits. He graduated with an AA in Liberal Arts from LaGuardia Community College and a B.S. in Physical Education from Hunter College. Though Powell initially rose to fame because of his relationship with the Beastie Boys, he is well-known for his intimate photographs that have been featured in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Daily News, The Village Voice, TIME, Newsweek, VIBE, The Source, Rolling Stone, and more.
*Edit: Ricky Powell passed away on February 1st, 2021. His passing was confirmed by his manager and archivist, Tono Radvany, who stated Ricky learned he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease last year and had ongoing trouble with his heart. 
We hope you enjoy reading this brief, yet intimate interview one of our own, Josh Rhodes, had with his friend Ricky last year. May he rest in peace and live on forever through his extraordinary life’s work.  
How does New York work? What inspires you the most coming out of this great city?
1…well.. 1 thing I always liked was the many different neighborhoods and the accessibility.
What has kept you in New York for so many years?
Living in the west village for the past 30 years..it*s a chill vibe and I can work/take pics while I walk around… that*s all I need…
Meet Ricky Powell, The Lazy Hustler

 

What’s the process on when and how you take a person’s photo?

Well.. to me street photography is like my transistor radio, the playlist is infinite..so every shoot is unique… I take it as it comes…
Who has been your favorite person you’ve gotten to work with?
..hmmmm… that*s a tuff one..a lot of people have been great/ fun…i*m sorry i can*t pick nine.. but Laurence Fishburne and Debi Mazar are stand*outs, for their creative minds and sense of humor…whoop*whoop!