Sound Source Production.com got its start in the early 1980s when photographer and photojournalist Travis Hill’s father brought home a VHS camera, one of the first available on a retail basis. Yes, the kind requiring one shoulder for the recorder and another for the camera.

While his future subjects — JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, Run DMC, Naughty by Nature, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, E40 to name a few — were perfecting their art, Travis was earning his chops with lenses, f-stops, darkrooms, videoing high school football games, a recording engineer certificate from Hollywood’s University of Sound Arts, a B.A. in Mass Communications with an option in Broadcasting from California State University, Hayward, production jobs at radio stations, concert promotions, voiceover gigs …

… eventually, Travis’s path took him to All Access Backstage Pass status, allowing him to document on film the Hip Hop and established R&B scenes. Note this: Rick James, James Brown, Ray Charles, Luther Vandross, Sade, Dr. Dre, and Eminem are part of Sound Source Production.com’s treasure trove of musical icon images.

Travis’s images graced the pages of Vibe, The Source (Up in Smoke Tour), Jet, Word Up!, Right On!, BRE Magazine, MTV.com, and People Magazine among others. Assignments to write concert reviews and other editorial content to accompany the artwork soon followed.