Jonathan Mannion Tells All: The Stories Behind His 25 Favorite Album Covers

Has any photographer in recent hip-hop history created more memorable images of the culture than Jonathan Mannion? Since he stepped onto the New York rap scene in 1993, the Cleveland native has produced iconic visuals that indelibly defined a generation of rap, R&B, and reggae artists.

Ask any 20-something kid who ever marveled at the cover of a hip-hop magazine or sat staring at their favorite rapper’s album cover, and it's likely they’ve seen most of their musical heroes through Mannion’s lens. For superstars like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and countless others, Mannion’s vision, consistency, and ability to innovate has made him the go-to image-maker for the most important projects of their careers.

We recently sat down with the legendary photographer, director, and designer to bring you the stories behind his most memorable album-cover shoots. As he reflected on his personal favorites, Mannion detailed stories involving everything from dropping his pants on the set (in the name of art) to spending precious time with fallen cultural icons. It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but follow along as the top shotta breaks down why his pictures only tell half the story...

As told to Julian Pereira (@Broadway_Jay)

#25. Young Jeezy, The Recession (2008)

Other works include: Boyz N Da Hood (Boyz N Da Hood), The Inspiration

Jonathan Mannion: “I didn’t do Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. I did The Inspiration and The Recession. For The Inspiration, we ran all over the city and got some great shots for Atlanta. We really got a chance to vibe, as he was coming into his own.

“He’s another person who’s really amazing to shoot. He continues to impress. I know the angles that he looks great in, and I think I’ve elevated his perception, visually. As the styles have evolved, we’ve evolved with them.

“We had shot together before for the Boyz N Da Hood album cover. The night before we were supposed to shoot that, he got tucked away for a day, for speeding or something. I didn’t get to shoot him until the following day, and shortly thereafter, we shot The Inspiration.

“The Recession was a little bit more of a concept. I wanted to showcase Atlanta, because it was going through some tough times, as we all were. I shot things like really rough hands, and I positioned the money in the guys hands to show the release date of the album. Really subtly, we’re always thinking on different planes.

“We were really just running around, shooting dope pictures and getting people involved. We were shooting the city and getting little kids and puppies, and capturing this moment, when people were struggling.

“There was a homeless guy writing biblical scriptures and we took pictures of pages of the book to remind people where the foundation was. We went to these places to showcase the state of the city, while still having a real moment of reflection.

“Because a lot of this was about what you could call B-roll images that dictated the feeling of the whole package, that was one of the moments that I realized that this album was going to be special.

“During the shoot, he told me, ‘It’s cool. Whatever you want to do, we can do it. But I want to be a star.’ I told him, ‘You are a star. I want you to be more than that. I want you to lead this movement. My motivation behind shooting you is to allow you to be the leader of this next wave of empowerment, because people look at you as an answer.’

“That’s when we got the shot of him in that black ‘64, with all of his boys holding up the black American flag. That was him saying, ‘We’re leading the charge. Come follow us, and you’ll be good.’ It became a completely different moment.

“My hope is to always make moments bigger than they are. I want everything to be a movement. I want people to say, ‘Fuck. I feel that shit. That’s who we are. That’s what we do.’ My motivation is always to tell a great story.”

#24. Fabolous, From Nothin’ To Somethin’ (2007)

Jonathan Mannion: “I shot Fab’s first-ever pictures. I was shooting an Akademiks ad with DJ Clue, and he told me I had to shoot this kid Fabolous, who was brand new, and he introduced us. I told him, ‘Let’s do it. Get in front of the lens.’

“Then I got a chance to shoot him for XXL, and then the Real Talk album. That’s when we really got to establish what we were about.

“From Nothin’ To Somethin’ was a real coming-of-age story for him, where he realized that he was nice and could make a run for the throne.

“He’s one of the next kings. That’s not to say that he’s not already a legend and amazing, but the next step for him is to take it all.”

#23. Nelly, Country Grammar (2000)

Other works include: Nellyville, Sweat, Suit, Brass Knuckles, 6 Derrty Hits

Jonathan Mannion: “Cuda Love is a friend of mine, and Nelly was his artist. Cuda had been telling me that he had this kid whose sound was nothing like anything that I’d heard before. He told me to meet him in the studio, and that’s where I met Nelly.

“Nelly was just a young kid from St. Louis. It wasn’t a big impactful moment. It felt easy, like I had known the kid forever. I talked to him about being from Cleveland and Midwest roots, vibes and sensibilities. We talked about what was important to us, and we really saw eye-to-eye in that moment.

“They told me that when it was time for the album cover, they’d need me. I told them I was on deck. Not that Nelly needed it, but it was around that time when a Jonathan Mannion shoot became like a co-sign.

“It was like, ‘Oh, we’ve got the best cat in the game. The guy who does all Jay’s stuff, all DMX’s stuff, all Ja’s stuff.’ So it was cool.

“I loved the experience of getting to go to St. Louis for the first time. I had an amazing time. They showed me everything, and it was really humble.

“I was down there for about two or three days, with just one of my assistants, and they showed me what they did on a daily basis. They showed me the lab, where they made the tunes, his old home, U-City, the spots they liked to eat at, and personally took me to scout. It was great.

“I love the fact that he’s still here. He’s always been consistent and positive. He’s genuine, and he’s a great dude. He’s like LL, in that he’s an ambassador of the movement of how to do it. He’s fit, he challenges himself, and he’s going to hit higher heights, even still.”

#22. Chamillionaire, Ultimate Victory (2007)

Other works include: The Sound Of Revenge

Jonathan Mannion: “I loved shooting Ultimate Victory. I shot Chamillionaire for his first album The Sound Of Revenge, and we saw eye-to-eye. A lot of things went in our favor on that shoot, and we had a great experience. We became cool.

“He’s a super-smart dude, and he’s very passionate and conscious of how he presents himself as an artist. He doesn’t curse, even on the phone. He said to me, ‘This is about the kids, too. I’m setting an example.’ In my time with him, I allowed myself to go there, so that I could use it lucidly.

“I really respect that he’s so aware of himself, and that he wants to excel. He wants to be great from his own perspective.

“When it came time to shoot Ultimate Victory, we got on the phone, and I asked him, ‘What does this mean to you?’ He said, ‘I’m not mad anymore. I’ve realized what a gift this is. With The Sound Of Revenge, I felt like I had to prove myself. I’m over it, and I want to live life to the fullest now. That’s what the victory is.’

“He told me that it was hard for him to tell me what he wanted, but that he wanted to be free and do something different, and that he wanted to go where I wanted to take him, because he knew I saw things differently. I told him I respected him for that, but that it still had to be about him, and he explained to me that it was more about a feeling.

“He said, ‘I go to these places and I get a bunch of stamps in my passport, and you do, too. The difference is, even though we may have the same stamps, you experience these places on a different level. I know that you’re going to take me to such amazing places.’

“We worked harder than we would have otherwise, and the label got a four-day shoot for the price of one, but it was OK, because we understood what it meant.

“The original idea was to go to Africa and somewhere else. We realized that we were both going to have to contribute some dough to balance out what the label had to offer us for the shoot, and we were cool with that.

“That ended up being too expensive, and we couldn’t spend the time. So I told him I wanted to take him to my two favorite places in the world: Paris and Kingston, Jamaica. In essence, we went on vacation.

“It was like we went on tour, and we did these crazy photo shoots in both places. We were at a 17th century chateau one day and in Kingston, Jamaica the following morning.

“They lost his luggage, and I ended up dressing him out of the bag that I had. It was insane, but it was all about the journey and the camaraderie. We had great experiences and got some great images to match.”

#21. Beanie Sigel, The Truth (2000)

Other works include: The Reason, The Solution

Jonathan Mannion: “Beanie Sigel is sort of like Rick Ross, in that the people that you wouldn’t think are incredible to shoot have the biggest character. Sometimes shooting someone people believe to be this crazy sex symbol can be so painful, and then there’s people who really know what they’re about, and it’s effortless. Beanie Sigel is one of those people.

“I love the vibe of Philly, and I get it. I think that’s why we got along. That, and the fact that there’s so much range to his character. Despite being this street-hustler, hood cat, there’s such honor in how he moves and how he looks out for and involves his kids and his people.

“We did three or four albums together, but this album was really important for him. The Truthwas really establishing who Beanie Sigel was. He was just entering the league, and he didn’t care. He was a beast.

“I remember taking chances and being out on the block with him. He was walking me down memory lane, showing me where he had his first fight, in this pit down by where he went to grade school.

“I wanted to recreate it and showcase things that he can look back at and say, ‘Yup. That was me, in that moment in time.’ because it’s never going to be the same. I even got this crazy shot of him with an AK in a back alley. We took it there a number of different times.

“One time, we were at the Philadelphia City Hall building, and he took out a Sharpie marker and wrote, ‘The Broad Street Bully’ on the wall, facing south. This is a historic building, with security guards walking all through it. So every time a security guard would pass us, Beanie would stand in front of it, nod, and say things like, ‘Thanks so much, man. Really happy to be here.’

“We had to get permits to be there, so they had my name and everything, and I thought I was going to get charged out the ass. Somehow, we got away with it, but I always respected the fact that he took it there.

“We really connected. These images were important to him, and they’re some of my favorites.”

#20. Run-DMC, Crown Royal (2001)

Jonathan Mannion: “Run-DMC was one of the first groups that I got to wrap my head around as a young kid. I was in grade-school, listening to ‘My Adidas.’ A friend of mine, named Joe Mantey got ahold of [Raising Hell], and we would play the album over and over again.

“Back then, we didn’t know who they were. It’s not until you grow up that you realize the impact that they had on thrusting rap into spotlight. Having been part of it, in that I witnessed it and remembered it, but having never been able to make a contribution to it, this was was my chance to contribute. I got to work with legends.

“I love working with artists that have affected my personal journey, musically. I hold them in a higher regard. It’s very easy to rise to the occasion, because you know how special it already is.

“It was great to shoot them. DMC was the truth. I had just shot Rev Run for the three kings Fader cover, with Zack De La Rocha and DJ Premier. We already had a great working relationship around that time.

“Working with Jam Master Jay, he and I connected. He did exactly what we wanted. He and D seemed to be a little bit closer, in that moment. They were the ones taking the meetings and leading the charge.

“I asked them to bring all of their old-school items. Each of them brought something that represented them, and one of the pieces was Jam Master Jay’s dookie gold chain, with the shoe hanging from it.

“Little did I know that it would never be seen again, a year later. He’s buried in it. It made me realize how important even the artifacts are from this journey.

“We really focused on single shots of every individual, versus them as a group. I got some really great individual shots of Jam Master Jay, but it was the details representing the bigger picture of the movement that were important, particularly the chain, the glasses and the hat.”

#19. Ja Rule, The Last Temptation (2002)

Other works include: Rule 3:36, Pain Is Love, The Mirror, Pain Is Love II

Jonathan Mannion: “I’ve photographed Ja since he first got signed to Def Jam. I did his first-ever press shoot. He’s great to shoot, because he listens, and he believes. We see eye-to-eye.

“This was a situation, where he showed up with one outfit, and as the shoot went on, we didn’t want to stop. I ended up styling him with whatever I had in my duffle-bag, because I happened to be leaving for the airport afterwards, to go home for Christmas.

“We shot it on like, December 23rd, and we had to get it done before the new year. This was before Murder Inc., and they really wanted to tell the world about Ja Rule.

“I’ve done a bunch of his album covers. This is just one where I felt like he really understood who he was. He always did, but this was a different level. He realized he was a star.

“I’ll forever deal with him, because I think he’s a great dude. It’s a relationship that I still have. He’s always been focused on family and he’s been loyal as shit to me. He loves what he does, and he’s always going to be living the dream, because that’s the attitude that he takes.”

#18. Kelis, Kaleidoscope (1999)

Jonathan Mannion: “What’s funny is that this was actually a reshoot of a shoot that one of my old bosses had done. It wasn’t Avedon, but one of the other ones. They had gotten some cool pictures, but they felt like there was another level to hit.

“That let me know that I was onto something, and that I had to keep it up. I was now reshooting people that I’d supported.

“I had photographed her once before, on my birthday. She brought me a bottle of Hennessy, and we shot in the house and had a great time. She was really cool. So when this came about, I wanted to take her from the image of that giant, pink-hair chick in Harlem to an iconic image that was going to last.

“I came up with the concept when I thought about looking through a kaleidoscope. I responded to the colors. It reminded me of a stained-glass window. So originally I wanted to shoot against a stained-glass window, but her personal wishes and wants were more important.

“She told me hummingbirds were important to her, and certain colors and things like that. So we decided that instead of doing the stained-glass window, which would have taken forever to create and shoot through, we were going to paint her. We got Joanne Gair—the person responsible for the Demi Moore tuxedo shot on the cover of Vanity Fair—and we made history.”

#17. Anthony Hamilton, The Point Of It All (2008)

Jonathan Mannion: “When it comes down to it, I’m actually more of an R&B guy than a rap guy. Certainly, there’s great talent in the rap game, but it takes real artistry to be able to blow like Jeffrey Osborne or Jill Scott. It’s just a different talent. Anthony Hamilton is one of my favorite artists.

“I have such respect for Anthony Hamilton. He has such a pure voice. He’s a guy that could sing the phonebook and make girls’ panties drop, with nothing but his voice.

“I consider ‘The Point Of It All’ a perfect song, and ‘I’m A Mess Right Now’ hit me at a moment when I was going through some drama in the female category. You hear these tunes that pull on your heart-strings, and you realize that someone else has felt like that.

“We’d worked together before, on a Fader assignment, where I got to shoot any musical piece that I wanted, and I chose to shoot him. I chose ‘I’m A Mess,’ because of where I was at the time. It was a cathartic process, where I was letting go.

“Rebecca Meek helped design it, and we flew Anthony down to Shreveport for four days and took it on as a project. We wanted to make something beautiful for the world, and he felt that. He saw our dedication to it, and The Point Of It All was really just a continuation of that.

“My intention was to make the visuals feel important, epic and legendary, because that’s what he is. He knew I was a fan, and having shot together before, we were comfortable. I wanted to make some of the conversations that we’d had over the years come to life.

“We had another discussion and really got some great photos. There wasn’t much to it. He makes my personal list because of the impact he’s had, musically. He’s one of the greatest voices we will ever hear in our generation, and I respect him so much.”

#16. Busta Rhymes, The Big Bang (2006)

Other works include: Blessed

Jonathan Mannion: “Busta and I have been working forever. When I was just starting out in New York, he did a song with Bounty Killer and Junior Reid, called ‘Change Like The Weather,’ and I shot some behind-the-scenes stuff.

“We knew of each other for a long time. I had pictures of him with Biggie and Jay-Z and on-stage at record release parties and stuff, but the first time I had a real conversation with him was when I shot him for a story in XXL.

“When I showed him my work, he was like, ‘I am bugging the fuck out right now. I knew you as you, and I knew this other kid Jonathan Mannion, from his work, but I didn’t know y’all were the same person!’ That sort of made the friendship.

“From then, we did album cover after album cover. One day he called me up and said, ‘J, I’m going to show up with something special for you this time.’ I said, ‘Alright. Tell me what you’re going to do, man. He wouldn’t tell me, but I told him he had to, in case I had to document it.

“He said, ‘I’m going to shave my dreads.’ I said, ‘You are not showing up with your shaved dreads. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to get Panch—Hype’s cameraman—and we’re going to shoot a one-minute piece of you shaving your dreads from about ten different angles. You’re going to do a score underneath that just says your mindset in this moment, and at the end it’s going to say The Big Bang, with no tag-lines. I’m going to document it photographically, and we’re going to do the before and after at the same time.’

“I stopped speaking, and then he said, ‘That shit is fucking crazy!’ I had to convince him that this was a bigger moment than having his cousin shoot it on some handycam that happened to be around the house.

“I demanded it, and I got it. We executed in the moment, and now it’s forever. That’s one of my favorite commercials that I’ve done. It’s like a little piece of film.

“The rest of The Big Bang stuff showed the transformation. From the last picture of him with the dreads, on the block, on Surf Avenue, in Brooklyn, to the new and improved Busta Rhymes, the leader of the next new school.

“He was focused, and it paid off. It was really that moment in his career, where he was like, ‘I’m one of the greatest.’ He’s a legend.”

#15. Beenie Man, Art And Life (2000)

Other works include: Back To Basics, Undisputed

Jonathan Mannion: “I had been a very big fan of Beenie Man for a long time. I brought my portfolio down to show him some stuff, and he was like, ‘Man, I know your work. I can pick out your pictures. You did the most recent spread in Vibe, and you did Chico DeBarge in The Source.’ That bugged me out, because this was an artist that I had loved since the onset of my love for reggae.

“I stayed at Strawberry Hill, which is owned by Chris Blackwell and was a place where Bob Marley spent a lot of time writing and thinking. I was in paradise, listening to Kaya and laying on my bed with the breeze blowing through the mosquito nets. It was really my first experience in Kingston to create.

“There was a lot of research that went into the shoot, based on old images of what I wanted to resurrect and recreate. But a lot of it was just reacting and seeing what people were doing.

“He asked me what we were going to do, and I told him, ‘I want you to take me to where you want to go.’ So he took me to Craig Town, which not a lot of people get access to.

“We set up a bunch of shots there, and he said to me, ‘You’re untouchable. You’re like teflon. You can do anything you want. Shoot anybody you want.’ The fact that he gave me such access and sort of a free pass to do anything was all that I could ask for, and I rose to the occasion because of my love for the place.

“Visually, that grit was exactly where I was. It was like ghetto elegance. There was such beauty in corrugated steel. That’s how I saw it, and I loved it.

“That passage of time in history, and the fact that it was an artist that I respected, who gave me access and believed in me, was like the stars aligned.”

#14. Ludacris, Back For The First Time (2000)

Other works include: Incognegro, Golden Grain (Disturbing Tha Peace), The Red Light District

Jonathan Mannion: “This came to be based on my relationship with Def Jam. I’d known Chris Lova Lova from the radio in Atlanta, but I never knew that he was an artist. It made sense, though. I’d heard him do drops, and I saw his comfort level on the radio, and I knew he was out of here. I hadn’t even heard a tune, but he was so professional, sharp and smart. He’s a big-time star.

“Originally, this album was going to be called Incognegro. Then, he changed the name to Back For The First Time. This was all about him starting to figure out what he was about.

“One thing I’m grateful for is the amount of firsts that I’ve done in my career. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and I want to make it an important one, every time, for every artist.

“I always want people to be who they are, but at the highest level of who they can be. At the end of the day, I wanted him to be him. I wanted him to look great, and I wanted to give people something to look at that was real.

“I find that concepts often work better for editorial things, but those aren’t as lasting. This is forever. So I knew that if we were going to execute the concept, we had to take that concept fully there, and not a lot of people are ready to do an entire shoot of that.

“We ended up running around, and the shoot was low-key. We were both working really hard at the time, and we wanted each other to win. Since then, I’ve done four more albums with him.

“I’ve maintained contact with that camp, because I love what they do. They’re smart and clever, and they’re about their business. We’ve had a great run, and he’s a person I want to continue to work with.”

#13. Xzibit, Weapons Of Mass Destruction (2004)

Other works include: Man Vs. Machine

Jonathan Mannion: “I’d shot his previous album Man vs. Machine, and we had a solid photo shoot. We created some special images, like him with a briefcase and handcuffs. We’d seen that in an old spy movie, but wanted to give it a slicker appeal. So we explored a different way to tell stories.

“Moving on to Weapons Of Mass Destruction, I knew it was an opportunity to do a conceptual album that wasn’t obvious. For Weapons Of Mass Destruction, the obvious is weapons, destruction and things getting blown up. I said, ‘No. We’ve got to do this in a clever way.’

“I’m forever location scouting, and I had found this airplane graveyard. I knew I hadn’t seen any images of this, especially in hip-hop. We went, and we were blown away by the size and the ability to sit on the front of these planes. It kind of freaked me out, because I could hang on the wing and move the plane with my weight alone.

“For him to be able to stand on the wheels of that plane was crazy. People can’t even put in perspective how big those things are. The wheels were almost as big as he was. It looked like those wheels had fallen out of the sky, and it so subtly said so much.

“At one point, we cut a plane in half. We shot the guts of it, and him sitting inside the plane and on the front, and we used it as a metaphor. It was him sitting on one of these big 747 engines and still being himself.

“He was really understanding who he was in that moment, and it was an amazing shoot. We were all truly excited that we told the story in a subtle way.”

#12. Capleton, More Fire (2000)

Jonathan Mannion:“This goes back to my love for reggae music and dancehall. One of the first cassette tapes that I owned was Musical Youth. One of my cousins bought it for me, because I loved the cover. I’m moved by the beauty, and the passion, and the pride of the culture. I’ve been back and forth to the Caribbean throughout my life, and this came at a time when I was really ready for it.

“There’s a designer named Rebecca Meek, who had been working in Jamaica for quite a bit. She’s an amazing friend, and she told me she was going down there to do this and asked me if I wanted to come. We landed, and it was like we were on vacation.

“I shot him out by this place they call David House, which was his recording studio. It’s in Papine, which is at the bottom of a hill in Kingston. I really felt so humbled by the access that I was given. I got to experience the spirit.

“I saw performance after performance and got to go to Tony Rebel’s Rebel Salute, where I was backstage and Buju performed. I really saw how Capleton moved and was able to document that in a very connected way.

“More Fire was definitely a peak for Capleton. Not to say that he hasn’t had others, but this was a moment when he was untouchable. He was the pulse of the island. The experience, and the fact that I love that album, is what I think made the connection so strong.”

#11. DJ Quik, Under Tha Influence (2002)

Jonathan Mannion: “Quik is one of my early influences. Rolling around in 1994, in my mom’s '84 Honda Accord, I was constantly listening to ‘Born And Raised In Compton.’ Back then, my friends and I would have our Raiders hats on and our Carhartt sweatshirts, and we were just enamored by the way that it felt.

“A friend of mine, whom I’d had early conversations with in New York, knew Quik. His name was Byze One, and we were both super hungry around 1994 to ’95 and connected because we both were determined to be the best in our fields. He introduced me to Quik, who was familiar with my work.

“He was sort of at a tough moment in his career, when we shot Under Tha Influence. There were label things happening, but we got a chance to vibe, and it was cool. We ended up having kind of a sit down, but I wanted some more pictures.

“We hooked up the following day, because I wanted to get him to take me on a journey, through his eyes. Then, he pulled over his motorcycle, as we were trailing in the van, and he told me he wasn’t feeling it and that he knew he couldn’t give me what I was expecting from him. He asked if we could go back to the Nikko Hotel and have a drink.

“We ended up posted up for about four or five hours, talking about life. That was the connection that solidified it. He said he was doing the album independently, and I told him I was excited. That’s when he agreed to let me take him on this other journey, and we created Under Tha Influence.

“With that shot, he felt almost like he was emancipated. It was like the moment when you’re being let out of jail. All these goods were coming back, we did the fingerprint thing, and I designed the album package—as I did with the Marshall Mathers LP, with Jason Noto. I made him write his name and the title in his own handwriting. It was cool.

“We had a moment to connect in those two days of running around Compton, and it really became the shoot that I wanted from him. It solidified our relationship to the point that we’re still cool today.”

#10. Rick Ross, Trilla (2008)

Other works include: Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don't

Jonathan Mannion: “When we came out with Trilla, it was an instant connection. He was like, ‘This is how I’m supposed to look.’ I had invested myself in asking the right questions about what was important. He told me things like Carol City, Dade County, 305. It was all about Miami, and I got to wrap my head around where I wanted to take it. I just happened to hit the mark.

“We shot him in the Maybach, and it just happened to rain. All the little speckles fit perfectly. It was like the beginning of a journey. Port Of Miami was like hand-to-hand combat. It was like, ‘I’m out on the streets. You might catch me on the corner.’ Trilla was like he had elevated to the level of a boss, and he had access to things and was starting to call the shots.

“We took out an $11 million speedboat and had a cute Jamaican chick with us, and we started to spit out the influences. He was aware of my work and what I had done, so I think there was a respect that was already there. That trust was already established. We took some chances that landed in a great place, and he told me, ‘I’ll see you on the next one.’

“On Deeper Than Rap, we elevated. Now it wasn’t a boat and a Maybach. It was a mansion and another beautiful woman, and we had some heavy artillery to play with. Now, it’s gone to the iconic movie layer of his life. It’s like a movie poster now.

“I had a chance to interview him, and he talked about how all his works represent a moment in time. The documentation of his journey is so thorough, because he drops albums with regularity. It’s all just storytelling. We’re telling the story of this rise.

“I don’t know where it’ll go next, but we’re going to figure it out. We work really well together. He’s one of my favorite people to shoot.”

#9. DMX, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (1998)

Other works include: It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, Grand Champ

Jonathan Mannion: “I connected with X early. Before anyone really knew him, he was featured on the song ‘4, 3, 2, 1’ with LL, Redman and Method Man. Back then, I would always show up at things that I thought were going to be cool, and people were telling me he was going to be the next cat. So I said, ‘Let’s go take some pictures,’ and I shot some behind-the-scenes photos.

“I took him aside, and we went up in this crazy abandoned building to shoot. He was swinging sticks and growling and yelling. He was animated. I was like, ‘This kid is dope. I don’t know what he does, but I like him.’ The pictures were cool, and I was able to show him some Polaroids. He said, ‘I look crazy. I love that shit. I fuck with you.’

“Then, I shot him for The Source, with the two dogs. That became iconic. That image kind of defined his entrance into the game. The label would not be denied that image. I told them, ‘OK, you can have it. Let’s just keep working. I want the cover.’ They said, ‘You got it.’

“That’s when I started working with the Ruff Ryderz. It was unedited grime and grit. Everything was raw and less polished, and It started opening up these lanes for this new vibe that was coming from Yonkers and Uptown.

“I shot his first album cover, and from there, we started to connect. He was already major and had started doing movies and soundtracks, when it was time for Flesh Of My Flesh to come out. He was everybody’s everything and showed up to the shoot exhausted, from being in the studio.

“I never got to talk to him beforehand; the label just told me the album was going to be called Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood. They told me I could do anything I wanted. I warned them that we were going to take some chances, and they were with it. They said, ‘If you can convince him to take the chance, then we’ll take the chance.’

“So I got 50 gallons of that blood ready for him. It wasn’t real blood, but it had nice viscosity. I begged him to get in it, but he was very reluctant. I said to him, ‘I’ve never steered you wrong, man.’ He agreed, but he was worried that he was going to ruin his pants. I said, ‘Wear my pants. I’ll shoot in my boxer shorts.’ I dropped my pants in front of the entire studio. He chuckled, put his arm around me and said, ‘Alright. I’ll do it.’

“I love him for getting in there. I had chills the entire time I was shooting it. It was what he needed. It was that shock value. You want to look away, but you can’t. Everybody was starting to play it safe at that moment, and he continued his focus and plowed through the wall. It was like, ‘I’m not of you guys. I’m different.’”

#8. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter II (2005)

Other works include: Tha Carter III, Rebirth

Jonathan Mannion: “Tha Carter II came about because I had done Cash Money’s first XXL cover. That was back when Lil Wayne was a 15-year-old, and Juvenile was the hottest rapper, with that record ‘Ha.’ Slim was there and Baby was just finding his footing. They’ve always moved as a family.

“I responded most to Wayne. I remember messing with him during that shoot. He’d be eating candy bars and drinking soda, and I kept turning my camera on him. He was like, ‘Man, stop. I’m supposed to be a gangster. Stop.’ And he’d be smiling, eating Cheetos.

“From there, it was based on them feeling comfortable. I began to form a relationship with him, and I was able to see his journey from having a great voice and a quick ‘Bling Bling’ verse to being one of the kings of the whole game.

“They were doing all that Pen & Pixel stuff at the time. Pen & Pixel was coming up with one cover, based on a five-minute photo-shoot. Then, they’d drop everything in and computer-bling everything out. So I was brought in, because they needed stuff to serve as press. One of the shots from Tha Carter actually came from a press shoot that we did.

“I think my disposition, going the extra mile, and doing things that reflected where their minds were, was what solidified my presence at a lot of these shoots. For one shoot, I even took like ten-grand out of my bank account and stuck it up on the wall, in hundreds.

“It was the most expensive backdrop I’ve ever created. They asked me, ‘Is that real? Who gave you that money?’ I knew someone was going to do it, at some point. So I wanted to be the first one.

“When it came time for him to start making the decisions, which was around the birth of Young Money, he was like, ‘I want Jonathan Mannion, because he’s been good to us.’ We shot Tha Carter II in New Orleans, and ended up having a great shoot. It was all family.

“He had just bought that phantom for himself. So it was like he was turning the corner and realizing, ‘I’m the shit.’ Then, when it came time for Tha Carter III he was already raging and on fire.

“Getting down on Tha Carter III was crazy, and pretty special. He spit all of his ideas out to me on Friday, at 5:00, for a Monday photo shoot. So we went in triple-time—not wanting to disappoint—to achieve that. We got some amazing shots, but the cover was obviously not one of them. He picked the baby picture on his own.

“One of my favorite shoots with him, was for Rebirth. We referenced The Rolling Stones and a lot of footage from the ’70s, like the old Led Zeppelin tour stuff and the debauchery that happened, because of the attitudes and the amounts of money that were being thrown around. There was huge growth in Wayne.

“On his Behind The Music episode I got paid a huge compliment. The producers asked him if there were any writers or anyone else that had been there from the beginning, and he said, ‘Jonathan Mannion. He’s seen it all.’ It was a huge compliment to me, for him to be aware that someone had been there for the entire journey.

“It’s a really, really special position to have been in. It’s similar to how Muhammad Ali and Neil Leifer worked together for years. That access has been amazing.”

#7. Big Boi, Speakerboxxx (2003)

Other works include: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty

Jonathan Mannion: “I shot Outkast for their first The Source cover, ever. We got to really feel each other’s vibe, and—along with Jay-Z—they were my favorites, at that moment. After that, I was able to shoot them again on a couple of occasions, and we developed a rhythm of shooting.

“I shot both he and Dre together for years, but Speakerboxxx was more independent of Dre. I took it for face value. People take different journeys and paths. I didn’t ask about Dre much, but anytime I would, it was always love. The vibe was always good.

“For Speakerboxx, I just tried to give him as much as I possibly could from my vision. I know how to think outside the box, so the ability to sit with him and figure out what we were doing was pretty special. He allowed me to listen to the entire album. That way I could create based off of what he’d created.

“It was based on the music. So I wanted to build that crazy wall of speakers and put him on the top of them, but I didn’t want to do it in post. I wanted to do it in pre. I wanted a bunch of records, too. So [Outkast's] DJ came by and dropped everything off. It really became kind of like a family effort.

“We kept thinking left-of-center, and that’s how we got the shot of him all hungover, with beer cans everywhere, busted up guitars laying out, naked girls around him, and a microphone on him. This was years before the movie The Hangover came out.

“I also shot him on a polar bear rug, because ‘Cooler than a polar bear’s toenail’ is one of my favorite lines of all time. When I told them I wanted a polar bear rug, they told me it was going to be difficult. It had to have been imported into the United States before 1973, because of some animal extinction act, but I didn’t care. I said I’d pay for it and told them to find it.

“The ability to be so clear with my vision, based on speaking to him and listening to the music, is what allowed us to land in that place. Our relationship is one of the greatest working relationships that I have, because of the access that I get to him and the freedom he gives me.

“Big Boi and I have a really interesting way of working. I’ve done a couple of albums for him now, like Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty. We’ve built our relationship over the years. Not that I use any favors, but if ever I need any information to create with, he’s accessible.

“In this top 25 list, there’s so many people that I really respect and admire, as people and as artists. He’s at the top of that list. He’s one of the coolest dudes on the planet.”

#6. The Game, The Documentary (2005)

Other works include: Doctor's Advocate, LAX, The R.E.D. Album

Jonathan Mannion: “The first time I met The Game, I shot him with Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes and Eve for the cover of XXL. That was the first time we had the opportunity to create some images together. There was so much buzz about him. He was Dre’s artist, and everybody holds Dre in such legendary regard. So when he got that cosign, everyone had to know about him.

“We shot it at the old Ambassador hotel, where the Rat Pack used to run. Game and I got to understand each other’s vibe, and it was one of the most enjoyable shoots that I’ve ever done. It was because of that shoot that I got more opportunities to create and was chosen for Game’s first album.

“I had two conversations with him. The first was a conference call. Game was like, ‘I know what Jonathan Mannion does, and I want him to just do what he does. I don’t want him telling me how to rap, and I’m not going to tell him how to do photos. I want something that’s reverent to hip-hop and touches on different influences.’

“So we took on different sections and wanted to pull elements that represented the bigger picture of a certain culture. We decided to give a nod to L.A., and that’s why we had the gold hundred-spoke Daytons and shot at the swap meet. We wanted to do something that felt different. We didn’t need the whole car, just something that represented it. It was more about him.

“The second time we spoke on the phone, I called him and told him I wanted to shoot him that day. Everyone wanted a piece of that project, and I wanted to shoot before the label dictated what we had to do.

“He basically told me, ‘Yeah. Come to Compton, man.’ I said, ‘Don’t be fooled. I’m in Compton. Just tell me which streets.’ He said he was on Brazil street, and I told him I’d see him in 30 minutes. I showed up and he thought I was insane.

“We ended up shooting some of the most incredible pictures, like the one of him with the gun, at the table. That was my version of By All Means Necessary, and it was a nod to Malcolm X. Then we gave a nod to Tupac, and we shot pit bulls, as a nod to DMX. We did all of these little things that very subtly started to chip away at his influences, and that’s what that album was about.

“We formed a real friendship. I ask about his kids before I ask about how he’s doing. To this day, I’ve done every Game album. He’s one of the realest cats, and I really appreciate who he is as a person. He’s got a great perspective on it all.”

#5. Ol' Dirty Bastard, Nigga Please (1999)

Jonathan Mannion: “Working with ODB was challenging, but it wasn’t hard. It’s never hard. Sometimes it’s just challenging to convey your vision.

“I think a couple of people had tried to shoot his album cover before, and he just wouldn’t show up. He had a set of crazy influences that were translated. Keep in mind, this is an artist who took the entire styling budget for his previous album cover and got gold fronts.

“I never spoke to him directly before the shoot. I was in contact with Alli Truch—the art director—who was trying to wrangle this whole thing together. She told me to meet her in her office to talk about it and said that he’d demanded a bed and wanted to dress up like Rick James and Donna Summer. I told her, ‘Alright. We’ll have it all for him.’

“I got on the phone with the stylist and said, ‘I need you to find the craziest, bedazzled, Rick James sparkling one-piece that you can find.’ And he came back with the magic that’s on the cover.

“It was a Saturday afternoon, and we were all amongst friends. The stylist was dope, my crew was dope, and we all were thinking, ‘OK, he may or may not show up.’ So we got every set prepared and ready to go, and we kicked back, hoping he’d show up in two or three hours.

“Two or three hours passed, and ODB said he wasn’t coming. Through Alli, we asked him to please reconsider, and he said, ‘OK, I’ll call you back.’ When he called back, he said, ‘I want $20,000 to show up to my shoot.’ Alli told him, ‘No. We will draw a stick-figure of you, and that’ll be your cover. This is for you. Come out and have fun.’

“About four-and-a-half hours into waiting, everybody was getting a little lethargic. We started having a couple of beers, thinking it wasn’t going to happen. So I dressed up in the outfit and gave everyone cameras. I acted like I was on the phone talking shit, and I had put a big sock down my pants, just so we could all have a laugh and let off some steam.

“Three or four of us ended up knocked out, taking a nap on that bed. Finally, he calls back and says, ‘Alright. If you make it $15,000, I’ll show up.’ We said, ‘No. Show up.’ Seven hours later, he showed up and started to push buttons.

“I knew that I had caught the moment before the shoot even started, when I got him pulling up his pants, which is on the back of the album. From there, it was about building trust and talking to him. He was playing with me, telling me when and when not to shoot him, and I just went along with it. I’m patient as hell, so we got along fine.

“For one of the shots, he got butt-naked and said he was really feeling the assistant stylist. We’re like, ‘No, man. She’s working.’ He sat down next to her and said, ‘I’m really inspired by you. Let’s talk about it.’ I wasn’t going to let anything happen on my set, so I nodded to her and asked her to go with it.

“We had about five or six setups. Towards the end, there was a moment when he tried to tell me how to light my shots, and that took it a little to far. I told him, ‘At least let me make you turn out the way you should look.’ We wrapped it up at that point. It was probably the craziest shoot that I’ve had.

“He was so gangster. I don’t want to say it exactly spits in the face of the system, but this was an artist, who did what he wanted. That’s why his music was so incredible. As much as it is unprofessional, I applaud him. Those are the loose-cannons that I want to work with, because I know I’m going to get amazing photos.”

#4. Nas, God’s Son (2002)

Jonathan Mannion: “I had previously worked with Nas in a couple of different capacities. I did the first The Source cover with him and The Firm. This was the first album cover I did for Nas, and it came at kind of a strange moment.

“We had a conference call, and he told me, ‘I just want to be happy on my cover. I don’t want to be mean-mugging anybody. I want to be about something.’ Sadly, I think it was a difficult moment in his life. He had just lost his mom.

“He gave me such dedicated and focused time and energy, and he got very personal. It was a two-day shoot. The second day we were shooting the actual cover, out on the beach, with his arms folded and his shirt off.

“There’s this amazing shot I have of him, with his arms spread out wide, and he’s smiling, looking up at the sky. None of us wanted to leave, because we all realized what a special moment it was. It was one of those moments when the entire team was so behind him. It was such a beautiful moment.

“I find that he’s a man of few words, but when he does speak, it’s the most poignant delivery of whatever he’s thinking. That’s very special, because a lot of people over-talk, and try to be too much and do too much. He keeps it really simple, but he says so much.

“I’ve worked with him since and had a chance to interview him, and I’m really looking forward to working with him on some bigger projects that’ll bring more substance out of his character. He’s way deeper than this seemingly quiet artist. I realize his depth.”

#3. Aaliyah, I Care 4 U (2002)

Jonathan Mannion: “We shot that late in the summer before she passed away. I was wilding out, because I was really excited to shoot her, based on the relationship that I had with Blackground and shooting a lot of their artists.

“I’d wanted to shoot more women, and I felt her vibe, musically. I thought, ‘If everything that everyone says about her is true, I have to work with her.’ I had really fought to put myself in that position to shoot what was actually meant to be only press and publicity shots, for international usage.

“They told me I had to get ten shots in four hours. I said, ‘No problem.’ That was a challenge, but she was so sweet on set. She was like, ‘I’m riding with you. I know I’ve got to do it, and I know I messed you up.’

“She said that because I was supposed to be shooting in the morning, and then someone else was going to take the afternoon. She was just doing so much press at that moment, because she was really on the verge of being everything. So they flopped the days, and I had to flop all my production, but we rose to the occasion, and she was a trooper. She was beautiful.

“We were shooting in New York, and I remember there were fireworks going off over the Hudson for no reason. It was past the fourth of July, so it was really random. I literally stopped shooting, and I said to her, ‘Hold on one second. I just did something special for you. They’re a little early, but walk with me.’

“I grabbed her hand and walked her to the window and said, ‘You know, it’s not often that I get to do this with someone that I truly admire, and so I did this little firework display for you. I hope you like it.’ She laughed and said I was stupid as hell, but it was just one of those times when you have to give them a break and be human.

“It is a job, and yes, we’re trying to achieve things at the highest level, but I wanted to separate myself as someone that she would work with again. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance. But the fact that I put my heart and soul into these pictures, and they really reflect who she was becoming, is one of the greatest gifts. It could easily put her in the top slot, as far as sentiment, in this top 25.

“She was a total sweetheart. She had a beautiful spirit and was super happy and messing around, but she was certainly professional. Her whole team was on point. We were building a rapport, and had talked about working together again.

“I wanted to shoot her in the Caribbean and had a few concepts I wanted to shoot, based on water and her sitting on the back of a scooter of some Rasta stuff, drinking coconut water. She was maturing and going a little sexier—in a controlled way—with her image, so I wanted to shoot some sexy, feet-up, bikini stuff, also. I wanted to take her there.

“Back then, every time I finished shooting, I would have people sign these Polaroids. We had finished and said bye and thanks, and I was taping these things together, thinking it would take her a minute to pack up, but it didn’t.

“So I literally chased her down the hallway and said, ‘Hey. Can you sign this for me?’ And on the photo, she wrote, ‘I’ll see you in the Caribbean.’

“It hits me every time I see it. Every time I go to the Caribbean—and I’m a huge fan of Caribbean culture—she’s on my mind. It makes you realize how little you should take for granted. If she can go, we can all go, because she was an angel. That’s fact.”

#2. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Other works include: The Eminem Show, Devil's Night (D12)

Jonathan Mannion: “Someone from Shady Records actually called me to do The Slim Shady LP, and somehow it fizzled. I don’t know who ended up shooting it. By the time the second album came around, I had been working with Interscope and doing solid work. They thought that it would be a good fit, and they zeroed-in on me.

“They told me the album was going to be called Amsterdam. I thought that was incredible and said, ‘Let’s shoot over there. We could do the Red Light District.’ It was a mutual agreement, because he was already over there. So the timing and everything worked out.

“They never sent me the album, but I did my own research. At first, I thought, ‘Is he just going to be a character? Is this going to be like, Slim Shady volume two? Or is this going to be another level?’ I realized, they wanted to go more conceptually for this one, and that’s why they’d brought me in to achieve it.

“So I got a tight crew of two people together for the production out in Amsterdam, and my first interaction with him was when he was performing. Somehow, we hit it off. I don’t know if it was the element of being two white guys in the industry, who were really passionate about what they were doing, or if it was a Midwest thing, but somehow it fit.

“We were walking around calling each other Hershey Loc, on some LA-gangster shit. It was hilarious. It wasn’t a parody, because we meant it out of respect. That was the initial connection that allowed a lot of things to happen. He saw what I was made of, and I saw what he was made of.

“He was wild, and he let his guard down. He had a willingness to try anything. I have pictures of him running through the Red Light District, standing in the middle of the street with his pants down. He would always try to push buttons. He did it musically and visually, and I was honored to be a part of him pushing those buttons.

“At the end of the day on one of our shoots, when it came time to do this shot, he was so dedicated to it. He was out there in the freezing cold, in his boxer shorts and a trench-coat. This was one of the two Marshall Mathers covers—the one done in Amsterdam, on these docks.

“He played the part, and that’s when I realized his true ability, even as an actor. I believed it, and all I’m looking for in my work is authenticity. I want you to feel the real person that they are, the real setting, and the concept that we are trying to achieve.

“From there, he said, ‘Hey, man. I have an idea to do one more shot.’ I told him, ‘Let’s do it.’ The fact that he wanted more for himself stood out, because most artists would be like, ‘Man, when are we going to be done?’

“Over the next week or two, they changed the title. They realized they had to make it more about him, and they wanted to develop the three different characters: Eminem, Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady. This was the real introduction to him, as a person.

“So I said, ‘Let’s go to Detroit. We have to go home.’ I shot some amazing pictures there at where he used to work, at the pizza parlor, and of him and his boys. It was an amazing moment that yielded the picture of him on the steps, at his real house.

“It was all about the authenticity. I could have put him on any steps, and it would have looked kind of cool. The fact that those are his steps makes it important, not only to him and to me, but to the history books.”

#1. Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)

Other works include: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, Vol. 3... Life And Times Of Shawn Carter, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, The Blueprint, The Black Album

Jonathan Mannion: “When I shot Reasonable Doubt, I was 25 years old. I had just arrived in New York in 1993, when I was 22. At the time, I had some formal apprenticeships, where I was assisting some master photographers, like Richard Avadon and Steven Klein. I was just learning the craft, from a very traditional viewpoint.

“Looking back, I wasn’t nervous at all. It felt like I could finally do what had been in my heart for so long. This was a chance to really create with someone who put a lot of trust in me, and I rose to the occasion.

“Instantly, I understood the way he ticked. I was born the day before him, a year later. So we have that same Sagittarius mentality, a little bit. We operate from the same disposition, so we always saw eye-to-eye. He knew that music was what he needed to focus on. So he needed to find someone that he could trust, with the same passion and the same drive.

“Jay already had a certain level of sophistication, at that point. He was already starting to separate himself from the pack and do things differently. I respected him as an artist, because I’d heard ‘Dead Presidents’ before it was released and knew that he was out of here. So based on the music, I knew I had to give my all, because I knew what it meant to be associated with this project.

“Originally, that album was going to be called Heir To The Throne. So I had a list of ideas that I had gone home and researched. My mother’s from London, so I kind of knew where to go for referencing of things like old kings and monarchies. I was going to try and conceptually take him down that path.

“When he changed the name, he called me into the office. He said, ‘Look, I switched up. It’s now called Reasonable Doubt.’ I said, ‘OK. Well, I have all these references.’ and he told me, ‘That’s crazy. That would have been dope. Now, you’ve got to do it again.’ I said, ‘OK. Let’s do it again.’

“He told me, he didn’t really know what he wanted. So I suggested we go to the foundation and go old-school reasonable doubt. He was giving me references, thinking of going the Scarface route. That’s where the visuals were at that time.

“I told him, ‘Don’t worry about the Versace linens and the silk-shirts blowing in the breeze, with the drug-running boats. Stay Brooklyn. Go John Gotti, mafia, surveillance.’ It sparked something with him.

“I came back with a new set of information. The vibe was perfect, and it came from great references. I brought in books, like Evidence, by Luc Sante. It’s full of old police photos and murder-scenes from the 30s and 40s. That’s where I wanted to go with it. Visually, it was amazing to see that level of photography, and that’s how I wanted to get Jay.

“When Dame Dash told me on a Thursday that I had gotten the job, he asked me how much I was going to charge him. I told him, ‘$300 less than your lowest bid.’ He looked at me like I had four heads. He said, ‘OK, but you have to shoot on Saturday.’ I told him, ‘No problem. You just have to cover my expenses. Let’s go, I’m ready to rock.’

“I told them to bring some cool shit, like bread and guns, and a loose framework of what to dress in, and they came styled and ready to go. Jay came to my apartment and sat in the living room. It was a bachelor pad that a couple of guys and I were staying in, on 72nd and Riverside. That’s where Trump has his empire now.

“We shot it on the roof of the building. Back then, it was all busted and beat up, and it fit the vibe. I knew I could get some beautifully composed shots, based on traditional cameras. So I was shooting with Hasselblads and Rolleiflexes, like press photographers did back in the Civil Rights era.

“That marked a point of departure for me, because that was the first album cover that I had ever done. We kind of took off at the same time, and because I went so hard on that cover, I was able to shoot eight more albums with him over the next ten years.”