The Story Behind Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Classic Cover

EgoTrip hunted down Brian Cross (AKA B+), the photographer for the iconic RapPages cover featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard and a topless woman. RapPages’ art director at the time, Brent Rollins, also shed light on the photoshoot. A$AP fans may be more familiar with the BLVCK SCVLE cover that was inspired by this shot.

Read an excerpt below and head over to EgoTrip land for the full story.

B+: It was a little awkward. He was fine with it. And I think that him being fine with it made [the model] be okay with it, actually. She felt awkward. It is a very vulnerable position to be in. Just think about it. You put your hands behind your head and you have a guy come up behind you and feel your breasts. That’s a pretty intimate position to put yourself in. And his hands really are on your breasts.

I think the “theory” of it was like it was quite a glamorous photograph of Janet Jackson. It’s a very sexual photograph of Janet Jackson, and we were flipping it in the sense that the model wasn’t Janet Jackson, and it was the person who is behind her that’s the star. And she was just the prop. And it changed the dynamic of the photo. He was cool. In a funny kind of ODB kind of way. He made some kind of joke. Some kind of light joke. You had to properly cup her [breasts] to get the shot right. To make it look like Janet you had to kind of hold them up and push them up so that they start to take the shape you want. He was properly cupping her breasts.

It didn’t even feel awkward in the end. In the end we got it done.