Hip-hop’s influence on beauty is getting its close-up at Texas Southern University, celebrating the culture’s influential visual trailblazers.
According to a press announcement, Hip Hop Beauty Circa 1973 will bring its photography exhibition to Houston November 12–20, opening at 3 p.m. CST. Co-founders Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks and Thembisa S. Mshaka are closing out their 2026 exhibition run with support from presenting sponsors HelloBeautiful and Hip-Hop Wired, alongside Ashunta Sheriff Beauty, Mshaka Media and Marc Harvey Beauty.
“Thembisa S. Mshaka and Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks are the kinds of real-world experts who will encourage and inspire our students,” TSU associate dean Dr. Michon Benson said. The show includes photographs of Erykah Badu, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Janelle Monáe, with artwork by Keith Major, Stacy Gray, Mazi Smazi and Traci Bartlow available for purchase.
For the founders, documenting those images is part of a much larger mission. Hip Hop Beauty Circa 1973 celebrates the people whose creativity helped shape the culture’s visual identity, placing beauty professionals and image makers within the history they helped create. “Hip-Hop Beauty is equal parts reclamation and recognition,” Mshaka previously told ESSENCE.
The publication covered the project ahead of its debut photography exhibition during Miami’s Art Basel festivities in December 2025. Both founders brought decades of industry experience to the venture. Sheriff-Kendricks’ career includes work with Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim and Alicia Keys, while Mshaka’s background spans music, writing and creative work. “Our teenagers do not know the history,” Sheriff-Kendricks told ESSENCE, explaining the importance of passing that knowledge to another generation.
The project’s name looks back to Hip-Hop’s origins and the decades of beauty innovation that followed. Its official website describes a broader platform connecting art, fashion, music, live experiences and retail. That approach gives audiences a chance to learn about the culture while supporting the creatives contributing to it.
The Houston programming brings that idea onto an HBCU campus during Entrepreneurship Week. Master classes take place November 19. On November 20, the first Hip Hop Beauty Market spotlights TSU student entrepreneurs from 10AM to 4PM in the C.S. Lane Building. A closing reception and panel follow at 7PM at the Jesse H. Jones School of Business. All times are CST.
For more information on Hip Hop Beauty Circa 1973 and to explore the collection, visit the official website here.
