Chi Modu

**Christopher Chijioke "Chi" Modu** (July 7, 1966–May 19, 2021) was a Nigerian-born American photographer known for his photos of various pioneering hip-hop artists, named as one who "helped refine their images." In 1994, he was commissioned to do an Atlanta-based 2Pac photoshoot for *The Source*. 2Pac also wanted him to do the album shoot for *Me Against the World*, though by the time Modu went to New York to visit the art director, the assignment was given to someone else.

In 2014, Modu released his book, *Uncategorized*, which celebrated hip-hop culture and contained unreleased 2Pac photos. He explained to *Complex*, "I photographed 2Pac pretty extensively in the '90s. With everything happening in the world, I thought it was a good time to release my entire collection and give the public access to it. The timing couldn't be better, in a strange way. A lot of what he said is occurring today." In celebration of the life and career of 2Pac, Modu created The Tupac Project, where fellow artists could reimagine and recreate art from one of his original photographs.

## Background

> Over the years, people have always said that my images of Tupac let them see a side of him beyond the Thug Life image, more about the human being. Before he was loved by the world, he was a young man trying to make his way in a society that is extremely cruel to the less fortunate. He made it his mission to speak for those in his community who needed to hear 'keep your head up!' As I travel the globe, I'm amazed at how many people have told me that Tupac saved their lives. His words and passion inspired a generation, and these pictures that we created together help to keep that inspiration alive.
>
> Chi Modu

In Atlanta, 1994, held their first photoshoot together. Modu recalled, "I flew to Atlanta and did the shoot at a conference room in a Marriott Hotel near the airport. But all my equipment malfunctioned, so I had to cancel the shoot." Embarrassed, by this incident, he offered to fly Shakur anywhere the next day, and the rapper replied, "'I'll be here. I'll see you tomorrow.'" The next day, 2Pac showed up early again and they "knocked out the shoot and ended up with" some of "the best photographs of him." He shot 2Pac with a 4x5 camera, no assistant. Some of the photographs turned out to be outtakes, "Like that picture of him tying his bandana over his head, the profile shot. That's an outtake. He was fixing his bandana with a cigarette in his mouth but he was relaxed enough around me where I could just photograph him."

After the Atlanta photoshoot, they went to Shakur's home in Stone Mountain, where he also got to see the rapper's gun collection. He said about this particular photoshoot, "We took some more pictures at his house, and it was just him being himself, which I was always grateful for. It was him in his backyard without his shirt on. It's funny because people are always like, 'Wow. He actually has a little bit of a belly.' What I like about that is that it humanizes that person. I know he's your idol and icon, but he was just really a person carrying a lot of pressure at a young age. My style of photography, I try to tell you a little bit more about the person and not their possessions. The nice thing about having him shirtless or in a tank top is that it's universal. It never gets dated. The pictures I took of him don't look dated, because he could be wearing that same outfit today. I think leaning towards simplicity is leaning toward longevity. I never wanted to be that hot photographer, because I always knew that was fleeting."

2Pac's final cover for *The Source* was held in Los Angeles, California, 1995. Modu shared, "It was after he got out of jail and was now signed to Death Row [Records]. There was a whole different energy in the air; there was a lot of tension. We did that shoot on the rooftop of the Wyndham Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. I hadn't seen him since Atlanta. He came up to me, gave me a hug, and said, 'How you doing?' I was like, 'Are you ready?' He said, 'Give me a minute.' Next thing you know, he does 30 push ups. He did the same thing at the Atlanta shoot, too." Afterwards, they hung out together with the Outlawz. He added, "What I really like about that was that I got to spend time with him and his boys. It was him and his friends, drinking, laughing, smoking, and just being 20-year-olds. There's something to that because you almost forget how old he was. This shoot was when I knew he was the leader of that pack. He always kept a crew and the Outlawz, who were mostly East Coast guys, was his crew."

## *The Source*, Atlanta, Georgia, 1994

Used as the album artwork for *Better Dayz* (2002)**@chimodu**: "PAC - He had the back tattoo finished a week before this picture was taken. We agreed that I wouldn't put these images in the magazine but Instead, keep them for myself for a later date. It's as if he knew his life was gonna be short. Tupac knew his image was important and he trusted me to get it right!"
* February 9, 2016
* Instagram
**@chimodu**: "This picture was done with a Sinar large format 4x5 view camera shot on Fuji RDP transparency sheet film."
* May 23, 2015
* Instagram

## *The Source*, Wyndham Belage Hotel, West Hollywood, December 30, 1995

**@chimodu**: "If you run into this image on a mag cover, this month, here's the unaltered full frame original. Taken on the roof of the Wyndham Belage hotel in West Hollywood nine months before his final trip to Vegas."
* December 24, 2015
* Instagram
Tupac, Fatal, Mopreme, KastroPac, Kadafi, Big Syke and E.D.I. Mean
## References

1. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (May 29, 2021). "Chi Modu, Photographer Who Defined 1990s Hip-Hop, Dies at 54". *The New York Times*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Modu, Chi (September 21, 2016). "I Shot Tupac". *Medium*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Photographer Chi Modu Talks Iconic 2Pac Images". *Complex*. September 27, 2016.
4. ↑ "The Tupac Project". *Chi Modu*.
5. ↑ Hobbs, Thomas (May 10, 2017). "Chi Modu's best photograph: Tupac Shakur lets his guard down. *The Guardian*.

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