B+
Brian “B+” Cross is one of the most prominent music photographers working today. He has photographed many album covers for artists such as Damian Marley, David Axelrod, DJ Shadow, Flying Lotus, Eazy-E, J Dilla, Jurassic 5, Rza, Company Flow, Madlib, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington and Q-Tip. Born and raised in Limerick, Ireland Cross was the director of photography for the Academy Award–nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, and he has made several feature-length music films (Keepintime, Brasilintime and Timeless) and many music videos.
B+ is co-founder of the renowned production house Mochilla with Eric Coleman. Cross was the photo editor of the music magazine Wax Poetics from 2004 to 2010, and Rappages from 1993 to 1998. Cross’s 1993 book It’s Not About a Salary: Rap Race and Resistance, was one of the first books to document the burgeoning West Coast hip hop scene.
Cross is an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego, who lives in Los Angeles and his new book, Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed came out on the University of Texas Press in early December of 2017.He still digs like crazy and djs from time to time.