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A long-awaited blog post. Introducing the super talented Mo Sabri, an up and coming hip hop artist from my alumni East Tennessee State University. But don’t let the small residing town of Johnson City, TN fool you. Mo has big dreams, with the ambition, raw talent, and of course songs to back it up. I admit I have to be picky when choosing photoshoots, and after listening to Mo’s lyrical genius I cleared my schedule to work with him. Mo takes his inspiration from Eminem, Blink-182, Kanye West, Blue Scholars and U2, but he’s not a copy-cat. I too take inspiration from other artists, and use it to fuel my future work. This post is about the photoshoot, I’m not a music critic like MTV, take their word for it. I just know what I like!

Mo Sabri – The Overnight Classic album cover
For the shoot, we decided on 2 different locations/looks. One would be in an open field with lifestyle photography. And the other would be a more stylized commercial look. With the sun setting, we went to the first location in the hills of Johnson City…. no shortage of grass and trees in Tennessee. Like that rhyme? I could be a hip hop artist too!.. (cough)
Then we headed to “downtown” Johnson City to do some low key night shots. The album title “The Overnight Classic” had already been determined, and I thought a night shot would be most appropriate for the album cover. Here it is without the title added:
His lyrical genius, good beats, and loyal fans skyrocketed him to the top 10 of iTunes World chart on January 1st on release day. Damn good way to start the new year.
Flashy cars, even flashier chains, Michael Jordan Space Jams, and the lifestyle of Money Ova Everything. Maybe one day I’ll be rollin’ in an S-Class Benz or Range Rover on 30′s, but till then I’m fine snapping pictures of my future possessions… Well maybe I can deal without the flashy chains lol. For this shoot I was contacted to do a car scene, group shot, and club scenes of M.O.E. from Compton. This was my time to go all out on urban gritty compositions.









Grady Nguyen provided me with some setup shots. All of the non-club scenes were shot near the LA River, and composited later. I think I heard someone call me Mega Man while lugging around the ring flash. I’ll take that as a compliment



BIG thanks to Steve Demmitt for lending me his 5DmkII, Scott Dukes for the extra gear, and Lauren, Grady and Patrick for assisting… Since then I’ve purchased my very own 5DmkII
… For obvious reasons, look at those close-ups. And they aren’t even 100% crops!!!