BEATRICE CHIMA

Seeing how hip-hop, and specifically European hip-hop, has grown in prominence in the last years, many have been emboldened to attach their extra-musical talents to cultural events surrounding the genre.

From graphic designers to journalists to fashionistas, people have started developing their craft following the cultural shifts brought about by hip-hop.
 Historically, photographers have participated specifically in the documenting of the zeitgeist. 

It is then only natural that in the case of European hip-hop, photographers in countries where the genre is representational of youth culture would appear to document the creation of history.

We covered such people in the past. Martin Mougeout, a French photographer and fashion designer who covers the style of a Gunnerstahl, is an instance of that
. And while Beatrice Chima (Rome, 1990) is also a photographer publishing fragments of hip-hop lore, her approach is slightly different than someone like Mougeout’s. 

 
1. The country is different. By this we don’t mean to merely point out the obvious fact that Italy is a different country than France. We mean to show that the countries’ relationship to the art form is very different. Italy’s relationship to trap music, the sub-genre that has propelled the popularity of hip-hop culture into the radio waves, where the minority of the audience relates to what the genre represents. In short, as a general trend, trap music is more a commodity in Italy than it is “culture”. This is not the case in France, where a much larger percentage of the audience actually have a relationship to the aesthetics and themes that the music portrays.

Where Beatrice steps in, is by documenting the Italian scene in a way that’s much more voyeuristic than others, a style that is necessitated by people’s lack of familiarity with the culture behind the product. 2. This explains her style. The undoubtedly photographically educated Chima (she graduated from Rome’s IED) makes the conscious effort of giving her witness account realistically, without particular visible embellishments to the photos. No filters, not much playing with the color balance, just clear photos of subjects intertwined with their cultural work. Maybe this consideration is what could make our convoluted first reason (1.) clear. People like Mougeout or Gunnerstahl need not explain to anyone that hip hop is an established artistic and cultural movement, so they concentrate on creating portraits that are less purely raw moments, and more beautiful paintings of artists (in more or less raw moments). 3. Chima photographs virtually anyone in the underground that she can, which only accentuates her purpose of capturing the developing culture of the country’s genre. 

Listing people she has portrayed would make a list far too exhaustive, so we recommend you check her work out, as it is a good resource Italy's scene, while also being legitimate and enjoyable voyeur art.