Rashid Johnson Photographs Jay-Z for GQ’s April 2026 Issue
Artist Rashid Johnson, known for his explorations of Black intellectual life through painting, installation, and photography, photographed Jay-Z for the cover of GQ’s April 2026 issue. The collaboration stems from a mutual admiration that began roughly a decade ago when Jay-Z started collecting Johnson’s operate, according to Johnson.
Johnson describes Jay-Z’s music as aligning with “a lot of interesting and historically significant Black thinkers,” placing him in a lineage alongside figures like Harold Cruse, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Michael Eric Dyson. Johnson’s own interest in Black intellectualism was sparked by discovering a copy of Cruse’s 1967 book, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, on his mother’s bookshelf. This book was later featured in his 2024 Guggenheim exhibition, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, a multidisciplinary exploration of Black consciousness.
Self-Portraits by Rashid Johnson
Drawing Inspiration from Masters
For the GQ shoot, Johnson drew inspiration from the work of Harlem Renaissance photographer James Van Der Zee, known for his holistic depictions of Black life, and the surreal portraits of Irish-British painter Francis Bacon. The resulting images aim to capture Jay-Z as a profound thinker. Johnson highlighted Jay-Z’s 2017 track “The Story of O.J.” as an example of the rapper’s ability to explore the complexities of the Black experience, including issues of credit and credibility.
Johnson noted that Jay-Z’s narratives center on personal growth and development, often delving into existential themes. Given Jay-Z’s art collection now includes Johnson’s pieces, the artist’s work—and these portraits—are poised to become part of the mogul’s legacy for future generations.
Keep reading