LaChapelle's Show

What do I know about David LaChapelle? As hiphop editor at three or four mags in the 1990s, I saw this cat’s stuff all over the place: iconic, borderline pornographic images of Lil’ Kim, Naomi Campbell, Tupac Shakur. Like Jonathan Mannion, Barron Claiborne and Marc Baptiste, LaChapelle put a sheen on celebrities like you wouldn’t believe. Unlike Mannion, Claiborne or Baptiste, Chapelle’s work is being celebrated in its own right at a La Monnaie de Paris museum retrospective this month: February 6-May 31. I’m on my way soon as possible, but this weekend there’s the Black Rock Coalition tribute to Nina Simone which I wouldn’t miss for anything: Joi, Tamar Kali, Imani Uzuri and others. Calling all Parisians – brave the cold and represent.