Diplomatic Immunity

Diplomatic Immunity introduced The Diplomats as a unit, and its cover is a portrait of the Harlem crew together. The photograph is by Jonathan Mannion, who had shot many of Roc-A-Fella's defining covers, with art direction by Akisia Grigsby. It was the only album the group released through Roc-A-Fella and Island Def Jam, and the sleeve carries the confidence of that moment.

The title is the joke and the thesis. Diplomatic immunity is the legal shield that lets envoys break local laws without consequence, and Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana and Freekey Zekey styled themselves as exactly that: a delegation from Harlem, above the rules. The crew photograph turns the idea into a group statement of loyalty. Mannion's job across this period was to make rap stars look like they already owned the room, and here he applies that to a whole crew, presenting them as a single front before most of the country knew their names.

The double album was delayed twice from early March before it finally appeared, and it became a cult text for New York rap, its sped-up soul samples and slang copied for years. The image of the crew together grew more poignant as the group fractured and reunited over the following two decades. Diplomatic Immunity was released on 25 March 2003.