Hip-Hop Book Contact High Getting Doc Treatment

Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios and Republic Record’s Federal Films are partnering with Jupiter Entertainment to adapt Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop for the screen.

The best-selling photo book by Vikki Tobak chronicles the rise of hip-hop over four decades in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Abu Dhabi. The documentary will feature rare materials such as outtakes of more than 100 photoshoots, intimate diaries, contact sheets, interviews from hip-hop’s most influential icons and more.

The book was made under the creative direction of Fred Brathwaite (a.k.a. Fab 5 Freddy) and produced by filmmaker Joseph Patel. Both will work on the film as well, with Fab 5 Freddy executive producing alongside Tobak; Patrick Reardon for Jupiter Entertainment; Chris Blackwell and Dana Sano for Federal Films; and Barak Moffitt and Daniel Seliger for Mercury Studios. Patel, who produced Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), will direct Contact High.

“Hip-hop has always been about self-definition, especially when it comes to visuals and style,” said Tobak. “Bringing Contact High to the big screen is important to show how a cultural force that grew from Black and Brown communities would have a long and lasting impact on people all over the world. The contact sheets reveal how photographers shaped the evolution of a visual cultural phenomenon. [We are] digging into the visual archive to bring this story to life.”

Patel said, “Vikki’s book is a hugely important homage to hip-hop culture and the people who create it, live it and keep it alive. I’m thrilled to work with her and Fab 5 Freddy in bringing these stories to light and preserving them for years to come.”

“This is the first-ever, comprehensive look at the history of hip-hop images,” Fab 5 Freddy said. “From the culture’s early days to what’s poppin’ now, this project shows the truly global impact hip-hop has made. By showing the contact sheets and archives, it takes you even deeper into the creative process. If you grew up loving hip-hop or if you a fan of pop culture history, you’ve seen these images and can now understand what preserving the photographic history of an entire genre of music looks like.”

“Contact High is one of those books that perfectly captures the cultural impact of hip-hop,” said Blackwell, senior VP of creative content and development for Republic Records. “It’s a tremendous honor to bring this project from the coffee table to the screens of culture enthusiasts across the world. Vikki, Joseph, Mercury Studios and Jupiter are a dream team, and this project represents everything Federal Films is building its foundation on; projects that are deeply rooted in culture.”

Reardon, executive producer and president of Jupiter Entertainment, added, “Through this partnership, we’re continuing to push into new territory with premium content that gives voice to diverse talent both in front of and behind the camera. An extension of the extraordinary book and companion exhibit, our documentary will dive into the evolution of hip-hop from its golden age to present day, capturing Tobak and Fab 5 Freddy’s rich visual archive.”