Look above for screenshots of the available products. Jay-Z is seeking to have Mannion prevented from selling products with his name and likeness and wants the profits made off of any Jay-Z merchandise. Carter, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, The Blueprint, and The Black Album. In addition to the Reasonable Doubt cover, Mannion shot the covers for Jay-Z's subsequent albums such as In My Lifetime, Vol. The rap mogul claims he has strict control over how his name and likeness are used and finds it "ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce. However, Mannion continues to sell photos and merchandise featuring the rapper's likeness. The photographer took hundreds of photos and was paid for the use of the pictures. The lawsuit claims Mannion was hired to shoot the album cover in 1996. Like many of Jay Z's records, the album was promoted as his final release, but of course the rapper returned in 2006 with 'Kingdom Come'. According to the lawsuit, Mannion is making an "arrogant assumption that because he took those photographs, he can do with them as he pleases." 1) 'The Black Album' was promoted as Jay-Z's final album. Not only does the lawsuit claim Mannion sold photos without Jay-Z's permission, but that the photographer demanded tens of millions when asked to stop selling photos. Jonathan Mannion and his company, Jonathan Mannion Photography LLC, are being sued for selling photos of Jay-Z for thousands of dollars. Jay-Zs video for the albums second track, 'Picasso Baby,' was filmed at the Pace Gallery, set to a live background audience, and featured Jay-Z and legendary Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovi. His design was inspired by the London riots, which were ongoing at the time, and became the final jigsaw that brought the whole project together.Jay-Z is suing the photographer behind his iconic Reasonable Doubt cover in a new lawsuit that claims his name and image are being exploited without his consent. The statue had Jay-Zs name in big, black, block letters on top of it, and a black censorship rectangle on top of his name and the sculpture. When the two most illustrious names in music collided in 2011 for Watch The Throne - they enlisted the help of Abloh to make their vision come alive. Virgil Abloh’s best album cover designs: Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne (2011) Abloh also created the cover art for 808s & Heartbreak, Yeezus, and My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy.įollowing his work with Ye, Abloh started working with other illustrious figures in hip-hop and masterminded some of the most iconic pieces of cover art in the genre’s modern history.Ĭelebrate some of his finest work below. A semi-concept album inspired by Ridley Scotts film of the same name, it sees Jay-Z chronicle his time as a street hustler. Abloh’s golden art direction for Jay and Ye’s 2011 collaborative project contributed to the album’s sense of opulence and braggadocio, which. The black disc is accompanied by a black-covered set. The album was very well received by critics and was also a commercial success, debuting at 1 with about 463,000 sold in its first week and more than 3.5 million to date. American Gangster is Jay-Zs tenth studio release. The Black Album is a 2003 hip hop album by rapper Jay-Z.It was promoted as his final studio album, although Jay-Z subsequently announced a return to solo recording in 2006. Virgil was then appointed as the artistic director of the rapper’s Watch The Throne project and was also made the creative lead of Ye’s agency, Donda. 2007 album from the rapper-turned-business mogul.
The duo both then interned at Fendi in the same class together back in 2009. The two of them struck up not just a close friendship but a creative partnership, too.