{"id":349062,"date":"2026-03-26T16:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/349062\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:12:08","slug":"high-profile-artist-rashid-johnson-photographs-jay-z-for-gq-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/349062\/","title":{"rendered":"High-Profile Artist Rashid Johnson Photographs Jay-Z for GQ Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GQ0426_SC_04_D-800x631.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a gray suit with long hair sits on a wooden chair inside a minimal yellow wireframe cube, set against a yellow background. A carved mask hangs on the wall to his right, casting shadows.\" width=\"800\" height=\"631\" class=\"size-large wp-image-845885\"  \/>Jay-Z, photographed for a special global issue of GQ by Rashid Johnson | Photo credit: Rashid Johnson\/ GQ <\/p>\n<p>High-profile artist and photographer Rashid Johnson has captured rapper Jay-Z for the latest cover of GQ magazine.<\/p>\n<p>Under the magazine\u2019s new editor Adam Baidawi, GQ has launched a new global special issue, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/behind-the-scenes-of-jay-z-cover-shoot-rashid-johnson\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">featuring Jay-Z as the cover star<\/a> and commissioning Johnson to produce the cover images. <\/p>\n<p>Chicago-born artist Johnson is considered one of the most significant American artists working today. Johnson received a BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and studied for his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. <a href=\"https:\/\/artlyst.com\/art-meets-hip-hop-royalty-rashid-johnson-shoots-jay-z\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">According to a report by Artlyst,<\/a> Johnson\u2019s early training in photography continues to inform his work, which has expanded to include sculpture, painting, drawing, film, and installation. For nearly decades, Johnson\u2019s photographs and paintings have examined Black identity and intellectual history, as well as the complexities of life in the United States.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GQUS-April-May-2026-Cover-Jay-Z-1-588x800.jpg\" alt=\"Jay-Z, dressed in a brown suit, sits on a chair holding a bouquet of flowers. He rests his head on his hand, looking thoughtful. The GQ logo and text about a special issue on 30 years of Jay-Z are visible.\" width=\"588\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-845886\"  \/>Photo credit: Rashid Johnson\/ GQ <\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s photographs for GQ\u2019s first global issue include a portrait in which Jay-Z holds a carved wooden mask to partially cover his face, leaving one side visible. In another image, the rapper is seated in a chair wearing a gray suit and striped tie, holding a bouquet of flowers. A further portrait shows Jay-Z sitting within a minimal, cube-like structure outlined by thin lines in an otherwise empty space.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GQ0426_SC_01_D-638x800.jpg\" alt=\"A person in dark clothing and a hat holds a carved wooden mask in front of their face against a patterned, geometric background. The GQ logo is visible in the corner.\" width=\"638\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-845884\"  \/>Photo credit: Rashid Johnson\/ GQ<\/p>\n<p>For the shoot, Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/behind-the-scenes-of-jay-z-cover-shoot-rashid-johnson\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">tells GQ<\/a> that he drew on references from photographer James Van Der Zee, known for documenting Black life during the Harlem Renaissance, and painter Francis Bacon, recognized for his psychologically intense portraits. The resulting images present what Johnson describes as a more introspective view of the artist. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cJay\u2019s stories are about his life, his own growth and development. In a lot of ways, they\u2019re quite existential,\u201d Johnson tells the magazine. <\/p>\n<p>According to GQ, Jay-Z discovered Johnson about a decade ago and is a collector of Johnson\u2019s work which often represents Black intellectual life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJay\u2019s music, lyricism, and sophistication are very much in line with a lot of interesting and historically important Black thinkers,\u201d Johnson says.<\/p>\n<p>Image credits: All photos by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/jay-z-cover-interview-april-2026\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">Rashid Johnson\/ GQ<\/a>.<br \/>\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jay-Z, photographed for a special global issue of GQ by Rashid Johnson | Photo credit: Rashid Johnson\/ GQ&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[185366,156,90027,38919,185367,157,111,139,69,185368],"class_list":{"0":"post-349062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-blackphotographers","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-gq","11":"tag-jayz","12":"tag-magazinephotography","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-rashidjohnson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}