Ernie Paniccioli is the Author of “Hip Hop at the End of the World” and “Who Shot Ya?”.  He first made his foray into the culture in 1973 when he began capturing the ever-present graffiti art dominating New York City.  Armed with a 35-millimeter camera, Paniccioli has recorded the entire evolution of Hip Hop.  Paniccioli, himself Native American, is known for his special eye for capturing people and communities ignored or misunderstood by mainstream America. Starting with snapping pics (a priceless history) of graffiti art in 1973 in NYC, he evolved to become the pictorial archeologist of Hip Hop much like James Van Der Zee did for 1920’s Harlem and Edward S. Curtis’ monumental prints did for the Native peoples of North America. Ernie is regarded by the Hip Hop community as their premier American photographer.  

He is also a Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee, recipient of the Zulu Nation Human Soul Award, creator of “The Other Side of Hip Hop” - named best documentary in 2007 - and has works featured in the Cornell University famed Hip Hop Collection.  Some of the most famous caught by his lens include John F. Kennedy, Jr. , Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Carter, Liza Minelli, Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson, Notorious Big , Michael Jordan, Britney Spears, Aaliyah, Tupac, Jay Z, Run DMZ, and The Dalai Lama, the list is endless. When asked which of his photographs is his favorite, Ernie responds… "My favorite photograph is my next one."