Respect The Shooter: Darbe Rotach Speaks On Photographing LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, Pharrell, & More

JAY Z

I was invited to shoot on the set of “Excuse Me Miss” for director Little X. This is the shot that helped me secure a series of jobs for Def Jam back in the day! This was a private jet that Reebok sponsored for Jay to use in the video and for a promotional campaign he was part of at the time. I snapped this photo on the first day of production at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. After an all day shoot, I went home to Brooklyn, grabbed a few hours of sleep and returned to the Manhattan set the next day at sun up with prints in hand. Jay’s PR woman saw the photos and gave him a look. Soon thereafter, I started getting asked to shoot Def Jam artists on a regular basis.