WHERE YOU AT
Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest
New York City — 1996
Camera
Olympus OMG (OM20)
Film
Kodak Tri-X 400
Edition
1 out of 1
Year
1996
Medium
Archival Pigment Print on Steel
Paper
Metal Steel — each print is unique
Size
24" × 18"
Frame
Custom frame by Ki Smith
Hand-painted by two of NYC's most legendary graffiti artists — each frame is a singular work of art.
Signed & numbered by the artist · Certificate of Authenticity included
Erik Elijah Brumfield
Q-Tip raised his gloved hands and something about it felt like a declaration. Not aggressive — more like an announcement. "Here I am." The white puffer jacket caught every available photon of light that grey winter afternoon and made him the most visible thing for blocks.
I was working with a Hasselblad that day — the square format felt right for a portrait this monumental. Q-Tip was at the height of his powers in 1996, Tribe was redefining what hip-hop could sound like, feel like, mean. And here he was, on a street corner in New York, arms wide open, looking down the barrel of my lens like a man who had nothing to fear from the world.
The low angle was a choice — I crouched and shot upward, giving him the full weight of the grey sky. His shadow against the white jacket, the texture of the down filling, the knowing half-smile — all of it came together in about three frames before he moved.
This is my definition of portraiture: you don't make the person look a certain way. You wait until who they actually are comes to the surface, and then you press the shutter.
I named this picture "Where You At" because in one of A Tribe Called Quest's famous songs, "Hot Sex," there's a solo quote where Q-Tip goes, "Where you at?" And that's what describes this picture. It seems like he's saying — here I am, where you at? Here I am. So that's why I called this portrait of Q-Tip the native son of the golden era.
Just to add a note — Q-Tip is the golden child of the golden era of hip hop. He was a great force behind the now Hall of Fame group, A Tribe Called Quest. A very important staple in the golden age of hip hop. One of my favorite rappers of all time.
© 1996 Erik Elijah Brumfield / 1212NYC — All rights reserved
Custom Frames by Ki Smith
Painted by SMITH of SANE & SMITH · Queens Icon ELI
Each print in the 1212NYC Archive is housed in a one-of-a-kind custom frame handcrafted by Ki Smith and painted by two of New York City's most legendary graffiti artists: SMITH — one half of the iconic SANE & SMITH duo whose work defined the golden era of NYC subway and street graffiti — and ELI, a Queens icon whose style has been embedded in the borough's visual language for decades.
SANE & SMITH are not merely street artists. They are architects of a visual culture that ran through every borough, every train line, every wall that mattered. SMITH's hand on these frames transforms each piece from a photograph into a full artifact — a collision of two art forms that were born on the same streets, in the same era, from the same hunger.
The spray-paint drips, the cosmic swirl of color, the spatter — these are not decorative flourishes. They are SMITH's signature energy, applied with the same intentionality that made his pieces legendary on the 2 train and beyond. Queens' own ELI brings his distinct touch: bold, neighborhood-rooted, carrying the weight of the outer boroughs in every mark.
This is not merchandise. This is documented cultural history — photography meets graffiti art, the two most honest art forms New York City ever produced.
SMITH
One half of the legendary SANE & SMITH graffiti duo. Alongside his partner SANE, SMITH defined an era of New York City style writing — their pieces appeared on subway cars, highway overpasses, and buildings throughout all five boroughs during the late 1980s and early 90s. SANE & SMITH are considered foundational figures in the canon of American graffiti art. SMITH's work on these frames is among the most significant applications of his craft in a fine art context.
ELI
A Queens-born graffiti icon whose visual language is inseparable from the streets and style of the outer boroughs. ELI's work carries the DNA of NYC neighborhood culture — raw, precise, and deeply local. His contribution to these frames adds a borough-specific energy that roots each piece in the geography that produced hip-hop itself.
KI SMITH
The craftsman behind the custom frame construction. Ki Smith's fabrication forms the physical foundation of each piece — the architecture upon which SMITH and ELI's artistry lives.
Collector's Note
"Photography meets graffiti art — the two most honest art forms New York City ever produced. Each frame is irreplaceable."
— The provenance of SMITH's hand alone places these works in a category of documented cultural significance.
