10. David LaChapelle, “Tupac Shakur: Solitary II,” 1996
The American photographer David LaChapelle, 63, redefined the celebrity portrait, shooting entertainers and world leaders ranging from Lil’ Kim to Hillary Clinton on surreal, cinematic sets that often blend religious iconography with Baroque or Renaissance motifs. In 1996, New York magazine called him “the Fellini of Photography.” LaChapelle came of age in 1980s Manhattan, starting out as a photographer for Interview magazine before shooting for Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. One of his most unforgettable images is from a 1996 commission for Details magazine featuring the American rapper Tupac Shakur, then 24. “Solitary II,” as the image is titled, features the hip-hop star — who’d recently been released after serving a prison sentence for sexual abuse — adorned with heavy gold jewelry, a “Thug Life” tattoo across his abdomen, reclining in a bathtub. The image could be read as suggesting that the arts-school-educated Shakur (he majored in theater) was washing away his violent past in preparation for a creative rebirth. Instead, five months later, he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. — K.W.
Bradley: This Tupac series represents hip-hop moving into the world of luxury fashion. He walked in a Romeo Gigli men’s wear show shortly after this. It was right before his death; his security guards walked the runway too.
Haramis: At this point, mainstream rap was still largely homophobic. But with this image, LaChapelle almost seems to be encouraging Tupac to embrace a certain kind of queerness, or softness at least.
Bradley: Yeah, he’s playing that up. Tupac got a lot of flak for this.
Van Lamsweerde: It’s fabulous.
