Oral History Interview with Vikki Tobak, October 15, 2021

Vikki Tobak is the author of  "Ice Cold: A HIp-Hop Jewelry History '' celebrating hip-hop's legacy in jewelry culture. She is also the author of “CONTACT HIGH: A VISUAL HISTORY OF HIP-HOP” and curator of the exhibition of the same name exhibited at Manaraat Al Saadiyat,  Annenberg Space for Photography and The International Center of Photography. Her writing has appeared in Complex, Rolling Stone, The FADER, ESPN, Mass Appeal, Paper, Vibe,  i-D, the Detroit News, the Library of Congress and more. She is a former producer and columnist for CNN, CBS News, Bloomberg News and other leading media organizations. Vikki got her start as a culture editor for Paper magazine before going on to work at Payday Records/Empire Management working with groups including Gang Starr, Jay-Z, Mos Def and other hip-hop legends of the Golden Era.  She was nominated for a Lucie Foundation Awards for Curator/Exhibition of the Year in 2019. She has lectured about music photography at American University, The Schomburg Center, The Kennedy Center, SXSW, VOLTA NY and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.