Rashid Samuel
Rashid, commonly known as Versus, is roaming the music and street scene in New York, particularly the youth rap landscape that is currently dominating the Brooklyn scene. No Instagram filters and no filters in general in his documentation. His photos are indicative of what is happening now. Take note people; @versusandco.
Profession?
Photographer, DJ, Videographer, Consultant, Music Producer, Entrepreneur…!
Is New York your city? Where do you live in NYC?
Definitely, born and raised in the melting pot called Brooklyn.
How would you describe your work aesthetic and the topics you handle? Are you really documenting the people around you?
I would describe my work as a snapshots of current events, done candidly – having a candid eye taught me the timing on how to catch non-forced poses, I usually try to get the most natural relaxed shots.
Has your work been influenced by NYC?
Greatly, New York is fast paced, you see a new person every day. It’s a small area that has so much around that it becomes a mix of cultures. With the mix of cultures there’s a lot of parties, events, get-togethers where you meet so many people and learn from them in that short period of meeting.
You are always out in the music scene. Who is currently inspiring you?
Never really noticed that til’ you said that. But currently the new wave of artists that start off from Soundcloud; they’re young and hop out in the scene with good visuals.
What is this music scene that you hang out in like? What is it like to be a photographer in this scene?
Most of my close friends are in the fashion/music scene and are close to a lot of big names, honestly you would think it would be crazy but its extremely lax, just chilling, hanging around, going to events; nothing too crazy. I don’t really look to find big artists to shoot either, I somehow always bump into people before they “get on” and some way we end up chilling with someone big.
How do you work from day to night?
My internal clock is set up differently; I usually have a calm chill day, figure out how I’m going to plan my night. Majority of the things I cover are sporadic, I find my way to events and if its a tight knit invite only event I figure out how I’m going to “finness” in, usually I get in, sometimes not; but end my nights (almost morning by the way) with editing the photos that I captured a couple hours before and post them before anybody is awake.
Has your way of life been influenced by social media?
If no one sees something it doesn’t really exist, so yeah this generation of social media made me more aware.
Do you feel any type of pressure caused by social networks?
Gotta stay relevant, gotta keep them numbers up, you can’t slack or you might get forgotten.