N.W.A - Backstage In Phoenix (1989) The Last Photographs of N.W.A. - Very Rare Photos by Ithaka Darin Pappas

BACKSTAGE IN PHOENIX - The Last Photographs of the Real N.W.A. (photographed and directed by: Ithaka Darin Pappas) The following images (all from a single roll of film) were taken early evening in Phoenix, Arizona about an hour before Eazy-E and N.W.A would perform one of the most powerful concerts on their 1989 U.S. tour. At the time, I was a regular freelance photographer for Priority Records and was flown out from Los Angeles that afternoon to document a private backstage ceremony. DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren were to be presented RIAA certified Platinum Records for their albums N.W.A."Straight Outta Compton" and Eazy-E "Eazy-Duz-It" which had been released almost simultaneously in August and September of 1988. Ironically, it was there in Phoenix later on this very same night, that Ice Cube essentially quit the project, ending The World's Most Dangerous Group as we knew it. These are the last photographs of N.W.A. together as a quintet. - Ithaka Darin Pappas 2019

________________________________________________ The good times couldn't last. Ice Cube was the first to discover all was not right with N.W.A. - at the height of the group's popularity in 1989 when the tour hit Phoenix, Cube stopped the show. Pat Charbonet, then publicist for Priority Records and Cube's future manager had been asking Cube some questions about his financing...How much money had Cube been making off the songs he had written for Straight Outta Compton? Where was the money...and when would Cube get it in his pockets? Cube didn't have any answers - so he stopped the group dead in its tracks. - Dr. Dre: A Biography (2007) page 48
___________________________________________________ At Eazy's request, N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller flew to Phoenix with new contracts in hand and $75,000 for those who signed. The rest of the group complied, but not Cube. He told Heller he wanted a lawyer to review the contract.The others in the group ridiculed him for turning down so much money. Cube in fact discovered he did have good reason to feel he was getting ripped off. According to Rolling Stone magazine, N.W.A. grossed $650,000 for their 1989 U.S. tour, but Cube only received $23,000. By the end of the year, Straight Outta Compton and Eazy-Duz-It had sold a combined three-million copies. Although Cube had written or co-written about half the songs on both albums, he earned a total of $32,000. - Sager 1990, page 166

_________________________________________________________ Royalties, which typically take months to work their way from shops to distributors to record labels and on to artists, weren't arriving fast enough to keep tempers from boiling over. At a gig in Phoenix, Arizona each member was given a check, but only if they signed a contract. I refused to take my check, because I felt I would be admitting that I agreed with what I was being' paid, Cube told me in 2006. They thought I was crazy!, saying, '$75,000 is more money than we've ever seen'. - NME August 25th 2015 Photography, edit and music: Ithaka Darin Pappas
Songs: "Afflicted", "Warm Budweiser", "Butterly Boogie" from the upcoming album, Ithaka Voiceless Blue Raven II Text sources: Sager (1999), Dr. Dre: A Biography (2007), NME Magazine (2015) Executive producer: craig raidor dahl Note: all images in this presentation under U.S. Federal and international copyrights. ©1989, ©2019 Thank you. https://nwafotosbyithakadarinpappas.b... https://www.instagram.com/nwa_photos_... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo97z... https://www.facebook.com/NWAandEAZYEp... #NWA #HIPHOP #IthakaDarinPappas

NWA - The Miracle Mile Shot - by Ithaka Darin Pappas

In this short subject non-dialogue documentary, photographer Ithaka Darin Pappas reexamines "The Miracle Mile Shot", a picture he took of N.W.A. in 1988, that through the decades has become the defining image of N.W.A. in its prime. The photograph examined in the short, entitled "The Miracle Mile Shot", was made on November 11th 1988 and features Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy E, DJ Yella and MC Ren. The image began its existence being used as the official press image for NWA's triple-Platinum album, Straight Outta Compton (Priority Records). "The Miracle Mile Shot" is an individual photo from a series of pictures made that day (at the photographer's home apartment studio at 6516 1/2 Orange Street - Los Angeles) using a Hasselblad 500 CE camera with an 80mm lens and Norman lighting equipment. Throughout the decades, the image's relevance has continued to grow, being one of the only photos in existence clearly showing the faces of all members of the short-lived but highly influential group

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Neste breve documentário não dialógico, a fotógrafa Ithaka Darin Pappas reexamina "The Miracle Mile Shot", uma foto que ele tirou do N.W.A. em 1988, que através das décadas se tornou a imagem definidora do N.W.A. em seu auge. A fotografia examinada em breve, intitulada "The Miracle Mile Shot", foi feita em 11 de novembro de 1988 e apresenta Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy E, DJ Yella e MC Ren. A imagem começou a ser usada como imagem oficial da imprensa para o álbum Triple-Platinum da NWA, Straight Outta Compton (Priority Records). "The Miracle Mile Shot" é uma foto individual de uma série de fotos feitas naquele dia (no estúdio de apartamentos da fotógrafa 6516 1/2 Orange Street - Los Angeles) usando uma câmera Hasselblad 500 CE com lente 80mm e equipamento de iluminação Norman. . Ao longo das décadas, a relevância da imagem continuou a crescer, sendo uma das únicas fotos existentes mostrando claramente os rostos de todos os membros do grupo de curta duração, mas altamente influente.

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10519540/?ref_=rvi_tt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa1HApBPD6U

https://vimeo.com/338337187 - Fab 5 Freddy (VLADTV) Talks Eazy E Skateboarding in Venice in ‘89 - and the Ithaka Darin Pappas photos in Contact High Exhibit #NWA #THE MIRACLE MILESHOT tographer

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ithaka/69363540

https://store.cdbaby.com/artist/Ithaka2

https://www.instagram.com/_ithaka_/?hl=en

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5225987/

https://thehundreds.com/blogs/content/ithaka-interview

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaka