Def Jam Celebrates Hip-Hop Photography with 'Through the Lens' Docu-series

As part of their celebration of their 35^th anniversary year, Def Jam Recordings, as well as the 30^th anniversary of Public Enemy’s breakthrough album Fear Of A Black Planet, UMe/Def Jam/Universal Music Canada has announced a three-episode docu-series Through The Lens.

Set up as a venue to celebrate the iconic photography that introduced the world to Def Jam's biggest stars, Through The Lens brings us three distinct eras that span the label’s 35-year history. The three photographers who get the spotlight are: Janette Beckman, Ricky Powell, and Jonathan Mannion.

Episode one of Through The Lens arrived on June 19th, focusing on British-born photographer Janette Beckman, a New York-based personality who began her career in early Punk Rock, working for music magazines as The Face and Melody Maker. Beckman was one of the first photographers to shoot LL Cool J, T La Rock and Slick Rick, whose images are featured in the series.

The second episode of the series will arrive on June 26^th and will feature photographer Ricky Powell with interviews and images, some of which have never been released before, including "a photo of Chuck D at a mutual friend’s wedding in the Dominican Republic in 1989 on the precipice of Public Enemy releasing the album Fear Of The Black Planet."

The third episode of Through the Lens will drop on July 10^th and focuses on photographer and film director Jonathan Mannion, who has shot more than 300 album covers and worked with hip-hop and R&B performers including Jay Z and Young Jeezy. This episode will feature twenty "rarely-seen" Mannion photos, including contact sheets from the Reasonable Doubt photoshoot with Jay-Z, as well as stories behind photos of Method Man, Redman and DMX.

Through The Lens also features interviews with first-generation Def Jam artist LL Cool J; music journalist, hip-hop archivist, essayist and original first-generation Def Jam publicity director Bill Adler; and long-time Def Jam visual artist, graphic designer and style guru Cey Adams.