Blending with Jonathan Mannion in Hennessy Artistry way

Recently, Hennessy Artistry the leading cognac brand dedicated a week to the Hip-hop culture in Lagos, as it welcomed legendary Hi-hop photographer, Jonathan Mannion to Nigeria, in what was termed as ‘The Legend Behind Hip-Hop Album Covers.’

The event, one of a kind project kicked-off on October 25 and climaxed on Monday 31, with the respected photographer touring symbolic places and meeting influential people in the visual and music industries in Lagos. Mannion during the kick-off shot the Hennessy VS Class Alumni at Studio 24. The Hennessy VS Class Alumni are the winners of a yearly Hip-hop initiative created by Hennessy as part of its effort aimed at celebrating music and discovering unrecognized new talent, and support the Hip-hop music.

On the second day, Mannion had a private ‘meet and greet’ with some key representatives of the media. During the meeting, he conveyed the aim of his tour to Lagos, which was to authenticate and celebrate the Nigerian Hip-hop culture. He also shared his works, experiences and ideas with them.

Later that evening, was the official opening ceremony, which held at the Red Door Art Gallery, where Mannion, walked a selected guests of 100 through a collection of his most iconic works, which were curated in collaboration with Lagos Photo Festival’s Azu Nwagbogu and Wunika Mukan. The exhibition, though brief, featured musical performances and cocktails by the brand.

On Friday, October 28, Mannion had a private lunch with four top photographers in Nigeria including Lemi Gahriokwu, the album cover artiste for Lt. Fela Anikulapo Kuti; Yetunde Babaeko; Jenevieve Akeni, who well known for her thought provoking photography exhibition in various photo festivals, and August Udoh, one of Nigeria’s leading album cover photographer.

A selected work of Jonathan Mannion was also auctioned at Lagos Photo Festival to raise funds to encourage the photography industry in Nigeria. These activities were followed by kicking off Hennessy Artistry Club Tour at Club 57 to celebrate Mannion’s 20th anniversary in the business, with #EniyanMaywether singer, Olamide Adedeji, rocking all in party like performance.

On Saturday, October, at Red Door Art Gallery, the energetic photographer had a talk presentation with a cross section of Nigeria’s Hip-hop/music and photography influencers, where issues such as the history of Nigerian Hip-hop, the quality of the musical content produced, as well as the way forward in the Nigerian music industry were discussed.

On the panel of discussion were, Obi Asika, Show Dem Camp, and Azu Nwagbogu with Classic FM’s Buki Izeogu moderating. Other guests in attendance include Naeto C, Ruggedman, Osagie Alonge, B Elect, Sasha, IllBliss, Jesse Jagz, Leriq, Ajebutter.

Sunday, October 30, Mannion in conjunction with Lagos Photo Festival, held a photography workshop for young and upcoming professional photographers at the Red Door Art Gallery, where he shared his works, knowledge and upcoming projects. The same day, the legendary photographer shot Nigerian leading rap duo, Show Dem Camp. Before his departure on Monday 31, Mannion shot the Shakitibobo progenitor, Olamide Badoo, for his upcoming album cover.

The project being the first of its kind in Nigeria is another initiative of Hennessy as a continuous means of expressing its love for music. In 2009, Hennessy Artistry was introduced to Nigeria, and has engaged the Nigerian audience with series of activities that has propelled talented artistes to some of Nigeria’s stars today like M.I Abaga, D’Banj, Ice Prince, TuFace Idibia, Banky W, WizKid, Nneka, Tiwa Savage, Praiz, and Burna Boy among others. It has been celebrated by the most diverse musical influences, ranging from classical to jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B, and pop amongst others in the world.