Japanise rock star Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi: photo session with photographer LESLIE KEE

The Singapore-born and Tokyo-based Leslie Kee has a thick resume, photographing such uber-celebs as Ayumi Hamasaki, Zhang Ziyi, Kumi Koda, Choi Ho Jin and Beyonce among countless others for magazines, books, posters and commercials.

Kee was born in Singapore to a prostitute mother who died when he was 13, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother and aunt. Japanese entertainment, especially music idols such as Seiko Matsuda, appealed to Kee and he came to Tokyo as a student to learn Japanese and photography, working two, sometimes three part-time jobs at a time to survive.

“Those were the hardest years of my life. I came from a home in Singapore that subsisted on the roots of sprouts that were cut off to be prepared for the elite class. I was the first in my family to attend college. The hardest part was always wondering if I would be approved for a visa or not,” says Kee.