Performs: Congas.

Day Job: House and apartment repair.

From: Central Harlem.

Favorite Spots: Times Square, 14th Street, and Washington Heights subway stations. "I play in the tunnels because they've got good acoustics," says Holley.

Typical Day's Take: $40. Holley plays four to fives times a week, six hours at a time. "It ain't like it used to be," he says. "There's an influx of foreigners. The money just ain't out there."

On Busking: "It's good therapy for the musician, like a boxer practicing in a mirror."

Text and photos by street photographer Joseph O. Holmes.