Hailing from Syracuse, NY and currently residing in Jersey City, Mel’s been documenting NY’s up and comers on his beautiful website, Village Slum, for the past several years. It’s become a staple on my daily blog troll. Mel’s trademark black and white photos and his access to the who’s who of rap talent in NY have set him apart from the usual photo blogs. If you want to see what NY really looks like, I highly suggest you check it out. There are lots of sexy ladies, candid shots of your favorite musicians, and a potpourri of downtown celebutantes.

Mel’s been busy lately being the Roots personal tour photographer, designing for Etnies, and working on a book with my pals over at 10Deep. Mel is documenting important social and artistic moments much like his heroes Ricky Powell and Martha Cooper. If I had to call it, I’d say Mel would one day sit along side these seminal photographers as an important player in documenting the NY social experience.

Here’s a link to Mel’s site

http://www.villageslum.com/photos/

@MelDCole

http://highsnobiety.com/columns/villageslum/

Here’s a cool little interview with Mel

http://www.streetlogik.com/article/mel-d-cole-one-shot-killer/

http://vimeo.com/7493038