About John Crooms

John Crooms was born August 27, 1969 in Newark NJ with music culture close to his heart. Johns father, an amateur photographer himself, introduced John to photography at a very early age.

After graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory, John began to study at Morehouse where he realized the urgency to capture African-American culture. At that time underground hip hop and dance music was emerging. John paralleled this movement to the Jazz Age and has been inspired by the photographs from that era. As his interest grew, he became aware of the Paradise Garage and was dismayed to find out that there were no pictures to document this important legacy.

Johns’ love of the culture and music led him to Red Beans & Rice, a record store that sold vintage and rare albums. The owner of the store revered the covers as important works of African American culture. Through his work at the record store, John was bale to form relationships with many up and coming artists and concert promoters.

He picked up his camera again in 1992.

John’s photographic career began when he shot a DJ battle at a local record store. From there John diligently established himself as a presence on the underground music scene. He made it his business to shoot nearly every show that came through Atlanta from 1992 to the present. Not only has John shot mainstream popular artists like Ice Cube, India Arie, Jill Scott Macy Gray, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, Raphael Sadiq, Lil’ Jon—he has also been active shooting underground legends such as Masters at Work and the Rock Steady Crew. Further, John has covered the neo soul movement, including Donnie, Cody Chestnutt and Joi.

John Crooms has perfected the art of “Urban Paparazzi”. John’s ability to capture the essence of the scene, has made him the resident photographer for many popular Atlanta events.