He originally became notable for his black and white photographs of hip hop concerts, artists, and other figures, including The Roots, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar, and others.
Cole later branched into photojournalism, documenting the George Floyd protests in various cities in 2020 and the January 6 United States Capitol attack in Washington, D.C. in 2021.
He also began teaching himself photography after arriving, taking photographs at hip hop shows in the city.
[6] After meeting Questlove of the hip hop band, The Roots,[3] Cole would eventually become known as the group's "house photographer.
[6][8] Shooting exclusively in black and white, he would go on to photograph numerous hip hop artists, including Jay-Z, Mos Def, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Rihanna, and others.
[1] In 2019, Cole formed Charcoal Pitch FC, a wing of his photography business that would be focused on black culture in association football.
[9] In 2020, Cole began traveling the northeast United States photographing a variety of protests that developed in response to the Murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.