Small-town hip hop as seen by photographer Jared Soares

Quiet moments in the underground rap game — Jared Soares’ Small Town Hip Hop project taught him the value of engaging with the community you hope to capture.

In this regular series, My Sweet Shot, we ask photographers to zone in on a single photograph from their archives that they feel best embodies the questions they’re broaching, generally, with their work.

Jared Soares is a portrait and documentary photographer based in Washington DC. Through his Small Town Hip Hop project he learned the importance of community and that to do work that mattered to him, he needed to be more than just an dispassionate observer of his surroundings.

My Sweet Shot

By Jared Soares

When I started working on Small Town Hip Hop, the photographs I was making were in the tradition of witnessing candid moments in the lives of individuals as they unfolded in front of my camera. The early work from that project was hollow and a carbon copy of work done by other photographers that had been marked in my psychology as classic and successful. Since this was my first self-­initiated project, I was figuring out my voice, trying to get comfortable with who I am as a photographer and attempting to develop my own way of seeing.

It wasn’t until two years into the project that I realised I was making a self­-portrait through the people I was photographing in the hip hop scene in Roanoke, Virginia. This became apparent while I spent time with Poe Mack, a rapper from Salem, Virginia on a couple tour dates in 2011.

Before hitting the road to Atlanta, Georgia for a concert, where Poe Mack would be the opening act, the longest I had spent with him was maybe an hour. Roanoke, Virginia is a small place and the number of rappers is even smaller, so everyone with a serious interest in hip hop knows each other. I had met Poe Mack in passing at his home studio, where he was recording a rapper that I happened to be following around for the day. Poe and I kept in touch and when I found he was going on a small East Coast tour, I proposed the idea of tagging along. In generous fashion, he obliged.

Nine hours in a car is a long time but it’s a great opportunity for conversation. While bombing our way down Interstate 85 through the Carolinas, Poe shared his creative process, motivations for his music and how he treated every aspect that goes into song-craft. As I listened, I kept seeing similarities with what I was doing with photography. Poe and I were much the same, two young men, trying to develop their skills and to push themselves creatively with the hope of reaching a goal. Our journeys as artists paralleled each other.

Though I’ve moved on from Small Town Hip Hop, the project was a catalyst for exploring my backyard, wherever I happen to be living. The concept of community is a cul­-de-­sac that I’m wandering around and seem to come back to with each project, big or small. I’m immersed in the idea of showing a specific group and how they identify themselves to depict traits that can be read as universal. I’m no longer a fly ­on ­the ­wall, just looking for differences.

Photo caption: Poe Mack tries to grab a quick rest after driving for several hours to from Virginia to Georgia in order to open for 9th Wonder. He was tired. I was tired. But he was excited for the opportunity to get to introduce his music to larger audience and I was happy to be a part of the journey.

Find out more about Jared Soares.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.