Justin Bieber surprised fans on Friday (July 11) with the release of his seventh album, Swag — read more about it here.
The album features everyone from Gunna and Sexyy Red to Mk.Gee and Cash Cobain, and it digs deeper into the vulnerability the Canadian pop star has had on display via social media as of late.
In the hours before the 21-track Justice follow-up’s arrival, billboards popped up in several cities featuring photography by Renell Medrano, a name you should remember from Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers album.
Below, we take a closer look.
Who is the photographer behind Justin Bieber’s SWAG photos?
Bieber’s surprise Swag drop was accompanied by billboard-debuted images of the 31-year-old captured by Renell Medrano. Joining Bieber in select photos from the session are his wife, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) and their son, Jack Blues.
Medrano, a Parsons alum, was asked in a Harper’s Bazaar feature last October to speak about what she had on the horizon at the time. In response, the photographer and artist cautioned against talking too much about works in progress.
"I once heard someone say that when you speak about projects you’re working on before they’re finished, a little bit of energy exits from your psyche that should be devoted to the project," she told the publication, which has enlisted Medrano in the past for photos of Venus and Serena Williams, Tracee Ellis Ross and more.
Who is the photographer behind Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers cover?
The 2022 photos of Kendrick Lamar, who, like Bieber, is joined by his family, are also the work of Renell Medrano.
Outtakes from Kendrick’s Mr. Morale session were featured in Medrano’s LAMBÓN exhibition in New York last year.
Medrano has also captured characteristically commanding photos of André 3000, Sha’Carri Richardson, Ayo Edebiri and Ice Spice, just to name a few. More recently, she’s helmed videos for Bad Bunny and Lorde.
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