“Homeboy throw in the towel
Your girl got dicked by ricky powell” – The Beastie Boys from the track “Car Thief” on Paul’s Boutique

Happy 57th birthday to street photography pioneer and all around NYC legend, Ricky Powell! Here’s to hoping that his day is filled with chompin on plenty of krusty knishes and hitting those jazz cigarettes.

In celebration, the Rickster is working again with Detroit publisher of fine art originals and prints, 1xRUN, who have long championed his work, to release the first installment of an ill-as-fuck series titled, Mutual Resoect Is A Beautiful Thing, which features classic Powell photos “remixed” by various contemporary visual artists. This time around the collabs include Anthony Lister, Ces, Crash, Dalek, Gregory Siff, Jim Mahfood, Kaves, Kristin Farr, Michelle Tanguay, Mike Giant, Swoon and Toofly. As expected, the photos will be heavy on The Beastie Boys shots, along with images of other iconic NYC figures like Andy Warhol, Run DMC, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mike Tyson, and Rakim.

Ricky, who shares a birthday with Mike D, is well known for his work with the Beasties — he even appeared as a nerd in the “Fight For Your Right” video — and these initial shots of his work document his time traveling with the group in the early days, as they opened for RUN DMC; up through the Paul’s Boutique era and, even a moment with the late MCA dressed as his alter-ego, Nathanial Hornblower, in 1994. And there’s more to come. This project is slated to find him working with “dozens” of artists, over time, with more coming in 2019. Here’s hoping that there’s an emphasis on the “DOZE,” as a Doze Green piece would definitely be more than welcome in a future installment For now, peep these out and link through the images to scoop something for yourself or someone else before they vanish.