In October 2019, London based photographer and director, Alex de Mora traveled to Mongolia on a self-funded trip to document the city of Ulaanbaatar and its undiscovered hip-hop scene. This unique cultural insight into the city, music, and the people of Ulaanbaatar has been brought to life with a book and short film.

Mongolian hip-hop emerged in the mid-1990s not long after the fall of Communism. As MTV and US Hip Hop made its way into Ulaanbaatar, its citizens shared mixtapes and were inspired by acts such as 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan. “Straight Outta Ulaanbaatar” introduces us to Mongolian rappers young and old, as well as the people and the atmosphere of the city itself. Alex met and shot local characters, up and coming rap artists, b-boys, and record store owners to get under the skin of the Mongolian hip-hop scene.

Via my art 'zine Pavement Licker, I designed the book, which featured hand typography for the pull quotes and for the film credits.

Book design / Typography / Film credits: James-Lee Duffy
Edited by: Josh Jones
Photographer: Alex de Mora
Agency: Pavement Licker
Agent: DMB Represents
Post Production: Ink Retouch
Platform: Book / Film