The Black Album

The Black Album was advertised as Jay-Z's final record before retiring, and he wanted its cover to match. "Creatively, he wanted an all black album cover, with nothing on it, pure blackness," photographer Jonathan Mannion recalled. What fans got was almost that: Jay-Z's face and cap barely emerging from the dark.

The picture was older than the album. Mannion took it during the photo sessions for The Blueprint in 2001, and the original is a colourful shot of Jay-Z in an oversized football jersey and his Roc-A-Fella chain. Heavy editing pushed it down to near-black. "We had the cover completed two albums prior to The Black Album's release," Mannion said, and although he and Def Jam tried new images, "there was something magical about THAT image."

Mannion later shared the original on Instagram with the caption "THE ORIGINATOR. Photographed for The Blueprint in 2001. It became the actual blueprint for The Black Album." Art direction and design were by Robert Sims. The album was released on 14 November 2003 and debuted at number one.