Interview: Jonathan Mannion Talks SXSW, DEWeezy & the Last Time He Shot Lil Wayne

There are hip-hop photographers, and then there’s Jonathan Mannion. He’s the man behind some of rap’s most iconic images, and his hard work and prestige have landed his album covers in art galleries. Words won’t do his story justice; just holla at Google Images for a better picture.

Some of his work is running in RESPECT.’s current issue in full-spread glory, so we caught up with Mannion last week to hear the story behind the shot. He’d just missed his flight out of Austin, Texas, where he was in town for South by Southwest, and we had a good chunk of time to talk festival life, Weezy, and Trinidad James’s new video. Read on below.

Last time we talked you were prepping for your Skillshare class on portrait photography. How did it go?

I found it really rewarding to just let people into my process. Like, if you haven’t been on the street, you just don’t know. … In a portrait kind of a situation, which this class focused on, you realize that you’re not the only entity in the room that has a say about what is or isn’t going to happen. So how do you deal with challenging talent or talent situations? Like, how do you motivate somebody who doesn’t want to be there? So, it’s sort of speaking to the psychology of that as well, the psychology of the shoot, which I find fascinating as a psychology major and somebody that really loves what motivates people and what makes people tick and makes them who they are and unique and inspired and sad and happy. I love that, and I think it’s why my pictures go to a deeper level.

Tell me about SXSW. What are you up to while you’re down there?

Really, this is my first SXSW, and I’m amazed after, what, it’s 11 years or something like that? This is my first one. But I’ve been to Austin before. I worked a bunch with Lance Armstrong down here, who’s a good friend, a great dude. So I’ve had a chance to experience Austin as a city, but I think this was an amazing time, like the vibration of the city, the energy was all positive. This young generation is out in full force, man, whether it’s supporting their people or performing and really showcasing their talent. I think there’s a new spirit in the music game and I think this has sort of reinforced that perspective that was building for me.

I saw everybody perform and it was amazing: I saw Trinidad James at a bunch of different venues—I just directed a video for him in Trinidad for “Females Welcomed,” which was crazy—so it was nice to see him in a different aspect and to also be able to download both of our experiences, like, “Wow, that was really special, what we made.” For him to reinforce that here, to say thank you face to face—you leave a job, and it sort of comes to life, and maybe you hear from ‘em maybe you don’t—this was a moment to have a download, like, “Ah! We killed it!”

I was wondering—since you’ve got your Lil Wayne pics that are running in RESPECT. right now—he had that health scare a few days ago, and one of the first things I thought of was, “What is the reaction at SXSW?” Could you tell me about that moment? How did you find out?

I was at the Fader Fort, and Trae tha Truth came out with T.I. and Yo Gotti, and T.I. said a quick comment, and there’s so much happening that you kind of zone in and out of listening to performances, but he’s like, “Keep thinking about Lil Wayne,” or something very quickly. Like, “Wait, did he just say something about Wayne?” I didn’t really process it entirely. Then Usher came out, and he said, “Wayne is in a bad way right now, let’s keep him in our prayers.”

Obviously, this guy is massively important and has such major impact, and his story is so valuable of how patient somebody has to be despite probably having this talent as a 17-, 18-year-old kid, whenever he started when I shot him way back when. It’s a story of triumph, but it’s also a reminder that we’re all touchable, like something can happen at any moment, and to really value this time and be focused. I know I’m back in the gym, man, you know what I mean? And there’s been a lot of little wake-up calls, like, “Let’s look at the signs, let’s build ourselves up, let’s get better.” And certainly, we all support each other, but it should be all the time. It shouldn’t be just in a moment of potential crisis.

I went to another performance afterwards at a Def Jam event and [I] was on stage, and T.I. had stepped backstage and had a little guest appearance as well, and he was like, “I talked to my boy Wayne. He’s doing good. Everything’s okay. He’s fine. He’s gonna be fine.” So, there was even people monitoring. Granted, these guys are running literally from stage to stage to stage to stage because so much is happening. There was still a moment that these legends and OGs like T.I. took in order to keep us all informed so that the rumor mill doesn’t perpetuate itself. It was a great moment of unity. Certainly there’s always support for the legends. Anybody a part of this industry man is a valuable contribution as long as their heart’s in the right place. From writers to photographers to sound people—they’re the guys who drive the speakers—you know what I mean? We’re all part of a unified vision, and I think it just needs to continue to strengthen.

No doubt. You might be the photographer who’s taken the most pictures of Wayne. To prepare for this interview I was going through your portfolio of pictures of [him]. Since that XXL shoot with the Hot Boys and Cash Money, all the way up to Rebirth, you can visually see the narrative of Lil Wayne’s career. What sort of story do you read out of viewing all of your pictures of Lil Wayne in that linear fashion?

I think it’s a story that I think is, again, a valuable and needed one right now. Speaking to him about different moments in time, when we have had a chance to kind of sit down and talk—and the man has been so busy that that’s few and far between—we have our dialogue on set, and there’s definitely a mutual respect. There’s not too much that Wayne couldn’t ask of me that won’t be achieved, somebody that has shown me that kind of loyalty and consistency.

It’s funny, they had to do a VH1 “Behind the Music” special and one of the people from VH1 said, “We asked Wayne the other day if there was a writer that had been around that we could get your progress…” and he goes, “Nah, there’s no writer, man. It’s just my crewm and the only other person that’s seen the whole movement is Jonathan Mannion.” Which is a great compliment—that I have a featured role in his life movie, that he knows that I made a significant contribution. That was really important for me, as I hold him in such high esteem and high regard and value his talents and perspective, and for that to be sort of at least returned at a level was like, “Wow, this is dope.”

He’s at a point where he can have whatever he wants. Now, it’s a moment of legacy, and I think that he realizes that, and it’s nice to see a different moment happening. Like the whole skate movement and the whole TRUKFIT situation— he’s now moving into a whole other arena where he’s deciding who he is. To have keys to P-Rod’s skate park to go at any time to practice his craft… I find it really fascinating for people that can kind of just change gears and say, “Wow, this feels great to me, I’m about to do that,” and still be generating and creating great music. It’s nice to see him not just accepting a role that has been put on him but to define who he is and who he’s inspired by. There’s so many stories that you can weave in and out of Wayne’s journey but ultimately: patience, dedication, skill, talent, craft, and really understanding who you are as a person.

Tell me about that DEWeezy shoot—‘cause he’s wearing his TRUKFIT, he’s got the skateboard in the picture—how did it go down?

A good friend, Derek Jackson, who I’ve worked with for many, many years at the GLU Agency, gave me a call, and he’s like, “Man, we’re working with Wayne and it’s only you, your relationship with him. We need to pull out something that’s richer, that’s defining this new moment. We got him to get behind Mountain Dew. We feel like it’s a great fit with his new energy.” Mountain Dew’s supported X Games and that kind of stuff. They’re always high energy, left of center, counterculture supporters. They’re majorly influential in that world. It just felt like a good fit for us all.

We went down to Miami, and [I was] basically given free reign to kind of do whatever I felt was right for him. We shot in an old warehouse, and it ended up being sort of used for the commercial as well. He had his skateboard at all times, and he was cruising around in good spirits, came in ready to work, as always—consummate professional—and he was on his skateboard, and we had a wide shot established. I’m a big skate fan from day one, like, Christian Hosoi, Powell Peralta, the whole Z-Boys, that was my world when it was happening, back in the ‘80s. I was there. I knew that [Wayne] was setting up for something, and I didn’t know what it was ‘cause I’ve never seen him skate or do a trick or anything before in my life. He went to the side of the set and just started to roll in, and I knew he was positioning his feet to pop this ollie off. I was ready, and he hit it and nailed it, and he rolls off, and he goes, “Did you get it?” And I’m like, “I’m Jonathan Mannion, of course I got it! What are you talking about? Who do you think is standing in front of you?” He started laughing … and I handed him my camera, and I was like, “Come on, man, come see this, come here. We brought it up on the monitor, and it was a perfectly captured ollie of him catching major air. I probably saw him more excited than I’ve seen him; he literally sprinted around the entire studio because it looked so great. He was like, “Aw, man, that’s the coolest shit ever!”

It was interesting to see in that one moment—his dedication to his craft, his dedication to being better, how he celebrates those little victories within that moment was really cool to see.

Both of y’all on the first take.

It was the only of its kind during the day, which is why it was the defining moment of the entire shoot, ‘cause he pans in front of cameras and pulls faces and wears fly shit all the time. This was a moment of him doing his thing. Skaters are an odd crew in a way because they are so authentic to what they do—judgmental isn’t really the right word, but discerning about the people that are held of the highest regard within that culture. It is a lifestyle, and if they know that you don’t lead it and you’re trying to come and front, you know what I mean? Like, they’ve been very protective of their brand for many years as sort of skate culture. They want the realest of the real, the truest to form of lifestyle, and it has been interesting to see how they have sort of absorbed [Wayne] and have accepted him. I still think there’s a way to go, but this was a moment for me, like, “Wow, he really believes in this.” And really, I think his lifestyle—that rock star, hot white spotlight that he’s in all the time—is sort of the same sentiment but on a grand scale of what that skater world is like: it’s my vision, I’m doing what I want, and that’s the way it’s going to be.

Was that the last time you shot him?

It is the last time I shot him, yup.

To wrap up, what you working on right now? When is that Trinidad James video dropping?

Oh man. I hope. It’s burning a hole in my iPhone. We shot it in Trinidad during Carnival, and, my treatment essentially was to present a feeling of what it feels like to be in Trinidad during that time, and just how the volume switch gets turned up. There was a lot of references to traditional Carnival characters woven into the essence of Trinidad James and his movement. I feel like it’s a brilliant elevation from where we were. Motion Family obviously set up a bar pretty high as far as a presentation of who he was, and I actually showed them [the “Females Welcomed” video] on the street at SXSW, and they kept on coming up like, “Oh dude, I woke up thinking about that video man. We’re so happy for you.” It’s interesting to see that there is real support because I only had positive things to say about their “All Gold Everything” video that they did. They killed it! You gotta set the bar high man! I came with my A-game.

I’m looking forward to it.

Wait for the fire, that’s all I’ve got to say.