Mr. Carter, 2011

Fascinated with the etymology of rap lyrics, Tahir Hemphill has been researching trends in the language and message of hip hop songs. Mr. Carter is a song by rapper Lil Wayne featuring Jay-Z. The lyrics are terse, harsh, and offensive, and lead to an unexpected, sober ending with Mr. Carter "hustling" and a plea to not let "Miss Carter" grieve at the funeral parlor. Hemphill simply and eloquently depicts the confrontation of these two characters in black silhouettes.

Tahir Hemphill examines the effect of mass communication on his viewers, picking apart images and words to decontextualize them. Hemphill is both an award-winning creative director, implementing his strategic designs for businesses in advertising and nonprofit industries, as well as an interdisciplinary multimedia artist. Hemphill takes a special interest in the etymology and culture of hip-hop and is the Assistant Director, Research at the Hip Hop Education Center in the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

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