October 21, 2025 • 58 mins
In this heartfelt and inspiring episode of Shaping Freedom, Lisane Basquiat sits down with legendary photographer and cultural archivist Johnny Nunez, whose lens has defined how the world sees hip-hop and modern Black excellence. Johnny opens up about his childhood in Brooklyn, facing racism, learning empathy, and how those lessons shaped the integrity and heart he brings to every photograph.
Together, Lisane and Johnny explore themes of faith, resilience, love, and legacy — from life-changing encounters and divine guidance to the discipline of never betraying trust for fame. This conversation is more than a look behind the camera; it’s a masterclass in grace, gratitude, and purpose.
Together, Lisane and Johnny explore themes of faith, resilience, love, and legacy — from life-changing encounters and divine guidance to the discipline of never betraying trust for fame. This conversation is more than a look behind the camera; it’s a masterclass in grace, gratitude, and purpose.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I've always been given that temptation to release images by people. Yo,
why don't you let that picture go? And I'm like no,
because it's going to damage this person's career. You could
also damage my career. And more than anything, my mom
used to say, if you ain't got nothing nice to say,
don't see nothing. I don't want to be part of
(00:26):
the problem or to be part of the solution. Love
is real if you guard it, If you protect it,
love can help.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to the Shaping Freedom Podcast, where we dive into
conversations that inspire personal growth, transformation and clarity and challenging times.
I'm your host, Lisan Bosquiato. I am moved and very
excited to introduce this next podcast guest, Johnny Neunez is
(00:57):
more than a photographer. He's a cultural archivist whose lens
has shaped how the world sees hip hop, black excellence
and modern celebrity for almost twenty years. He's been trusted
by legends from Jay Z to Beyonce Nas to Lebron
James and many others. And he's been trusted by those
(01:20):
folks because he does something that is very rare in
this era of clickbait and exposure and sensationalism. He protects dignity.
His philosophy of never taking an unflattering photo is a
radical act of integrity. And a world obsessed with tearing
(01:41):
people down and tearing them up at a time when
truth and authenticity are being distorted by filters, AI and
viral culture, Johnny's work reminds us of the power of
human connection, trust, and presence. Today, we're not going to
talk just about photography, going to talk about legacy, resilience,
(02:03):
and what it means to bear witness with honor and respect.
This conversation is about the man who has become the
keeper of memory for an entire generation, for an entire culture.
Johnny Newonz, Welcome to the Shaping Freedom podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We You and I worked together briefly during the King
Pleasure exhibition that Johnny and I did, my sister and
I did for our brother Shemesha Boskia and I had
heard about you and had kind of watched you from Afar,
and one of the things that I noticed instantly about
(02:53):
you when we had the opportunity to actually encounter each
other in person was just what I just described that
you were taking photos in a way that was so
meticulously careful and aware, and it was different and it
(03:16):
felt different. And that's no shade to any photographer at all,
But there is a secret sauce that you had in
the way that you interact with other human beings that
is unique and so respectful and so filled with such
integrity that I instantly wanted to know who the man
(03:37):
behind the camera was.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah. And then a couple of weeks later, I think,
or maybe it was leading up. I think it was afterwards,
we did an IG live together and that was when
I got I had the chance to learn a little
bit more about who you were. And the event was
it was the It was in celebration of the fifty
(04:02):
years of hip hop and Ari Melbourne hosted m Seed
the event Jeannie and I hosted and my granddaughter Emma
got to have Dougie freshbebop for her. Yeah, and Gil
was on the Gil Vazquez and Rhapsody were on the stage.
(04:25):
It was a beautiful, beautiful event. So, Johnny, I don't
even know where to start. I understand that you were
adopted by a Puerto Rican family. Yeah, as a child,
and that you were raised in Brooklyn and that very
(04:45):
often you were the only black kid in your neighborhood.
H can you share a little bit about your about
your upbringing where in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I was in Greenpoine, Brooklyn, and thank you the signed
for that introduction. I really really touch my heart, you know.
So I just want to say thank you and your
gracious family, you know, beautiful family, Gail Gallagher and Ari
Mober and all of those other individuals that helped bring
this project together when we first got to collaborate. So
I just want to thank you again for the opportunity
(05:18):
and to.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Your sister, you're welcome. Aileen Gallagher, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Eileen Gallagher. Yeah. But I wanted to say, well, growing
up in Green Point, Brooklyn, it was definitely not the
Brooklyn that you see now. As I was mentioning, there
were immigrants, but for whatever reason, it was just a
(05:43):
terrible time with racism. And I would walk to PS
thirty four, which was the school my elementary school, and
I would see rocks zip by me them bottles and
would be I would be scared. And back then, I
don't even know how our parents would let us walk
to school at the age of six or seven, and
sometimes there would be a parent, sometimes there wasn't. There
(06:04):
was just a bunch of seven year old eight year
olds walking together, which I would never have that happen now.
But then as time regressed, you know, I would go
to school and there would be white kids saying three
o'clock nigger or three o'clock spick, and I would be like,
I would tell my teachers, Hey, I don't know what
(06:27):
a nigger is or what a spick is, but they're
doing this. And of course the teachers knew what it meant,
but they were like, when street clock, we opening that door,
and you gotta.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Go home, get out there.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
So you would think that there would be some layer
of protection. Sometimes I would look through the glass and
I would see like the whole schoolyard filled with white
boys just waiting for me, and I would beg the
professor and the teachers, is there another way out? And
sometimes the hall monitors would take me through the basement
and I would go out to the back and I
(07:01):
would just be like, I would not understand what is
it about me that this problem was? And so later
on my mom was like, look wait for me at
the school. I'm gonna come and pick you up personally,
or your brother's gonna come and pick you up. So
it was some days I would wait very long because
my mom would work, my dad would work, and I
(07:23):
couldn't wait in that corner because little by little I
start to see one guy and another guy and three,
and before you know it, nigger that word. I started
running through this running home and rocks and bottles. I
sometimes got struck with the rock. I'll never forget. One day,
I was running to hopefully ring a bell of a
(07:48):
stranger's home because they were gaining on me. And I
rang a bell and before I knew it, and I
was probably like eight or nine years old, I rang
the bell to tell the person please help me. I'm
being chased by my mind. And next thing now I
hear and they opened the door and let the German
shepherd chase me. So now on top of cars, running
(08:11):
on top of cars. On one side, I got all
these crazy races boys, and on the other side, I
got a dog just gnarling to bite me. And I
would be standing on someone's car, and it's like enough
attention for neighbors to say, hey, leave them alone, you know.
But there was a good part of my block. And
(08:33):
if you made it to the block. I had the
white kids on my block. They were cool, they would fight,
My brothers would be there, whoever was on my block.
It was like the safety zone. So I still didn't
understand racism, but now I was beginning to understand the
color was something that had to do with it.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
What is this thing about? You know, I grew up
in Brooklyn. I grew up in Burham Hill, and at
first in Flatbush and then Borham Hill. And what's what
I'm remembering, Johnny is I grew up in Borham Hill.
We grew up in a brownstone, and we went to
(09:13):
school in uh Carroll Gardens and and also u PS
thirty eight, which is right on Pacific Street in Brooklyn.
And I had the opposite, well not the opposite, it
was the same thing because I would go to school
and I'd mind my business, just go to school. I'm
(09:34):
just trying to go to school. Well, I'm like a
little kid trying to get to school. And I go
to school and I remember this one day, and you know,
I would I would get these comments about me being
light skinned, right, and these are you know, it was
very diverse. You know, there's a lot of black kids
in the class in the school, and I remember these
(09:55):
these two girls, and there was one girl who's light skinned,
another girl who was darker and h and they would
try to jump me every single day. They would be
waiting for me every single day. And then this one
day I heard from a group of kids that I
was supposed to be fighting somebody at the school. I
(10:19):
heard like, at three o'clock, you're fighting this So I'm
not gonna name her name, just in case she's grown
out of this nonsense. But they're like, you're gonna fight
with this person after school, and I'm like what. So
at the end of school, I went to go. I
went to the candy store to go get a little
bag of candy. I would do that every day, and
I got my little back of candy. I'm just like
(10:40):
walking mind in my business, my only son business. And
they're like, yeah, she is. They would have to fight, fight, fight, fight,
And we go down and took uh and a bunch
of them got behind me and the rest of them
got behind her and pushed us into each other so
that we would fight. And I'm not, I'm not, I wasn't.
(11:03):
That's not a natural thing for me. But I was
so scared that I whipped that girl's ass. I was terrified.
I was like I did, I was like, what are
we doing? Wait a minute, and she started to cry.
And I but what I was really mad about, because
it shows you how greedy my ass is. I was
(11:25):
mad because my candy, my little baker KNDy, got knocked
out of my hand, and the candy we're flying to
the ground. So that's all I was thinking about, is my.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Candy ruined my ritual.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
He ruined my ritual, so pissed off. That must be
the virgo in me. And I went and after I
fought her, and she's sitting there all crying and whatever.
And I just went and picked up my candy and
put it in the bag and kept on going home.
But nobody at home knew because my father worked and
I didn't, you know, it was just me after school,
(12:00):
and I was little. I think I was in like
the third I'm the age that my granddaughter is right now.
I was about or eight years old in the third grade.
And I walked home by myself, crossed the street and everything,
got home washed, my face, got it together, and sat
there with my family that night and never told anyone. No.
(12:22):
I mean, it's just it's anyway. I don't even know
how we got there.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Why didn't you want to tell them?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I think I think that I don't know. I got
to think about that one. I think it was I mean,
somebody would have done something. I guess you know what
it is. I think that school going to and I'm
gonna say going to school in Brooklyn at that time,
But I have a feeling that that's the case in
(12:50):
so many places. It's almost like you go to school
and it's a world in and of itself, you know,
and you go there and it's really all about the
report card at the end of a semester, but that
world and the ways that that children interact with each other,
unless there's someone who's honed into that. I felt like
(13:12):
once I went to school, I was kind of in
my own world, and that's you know what what people did?
I suppose, you know, but I didn't. It wasn't like
I was like, hey, somebody, they tried to fight me,
and this is what happened.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Have you survived? Have you survived? Me too?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Me too? But what I do wonder is I know
that that experience, and I had several other experiences, and
a lot of it was light skin, dark skin, or
you talk this way, or your Haitian or your Puerto
Rican or whatever the things are that we decide, you know,
or I'm mad at you because I live in the
(13:54):
projects and you live in Borum Hill and who do
you think you are? And all this kind of nonsense.
It was a lot of that, and I know that
it's shaped for me certain aspects of the adult that
I am today. So I'm wondering for you, having experienced that,
how you think that may have influenced or impacted the
(14:17):
person that you are today.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, so you know, I think for sharing that as.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Well, welcome. Thank you for helping me bring that out.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Thank you, thank you. In all fairness, there were the
Polish immigrants that had come to my neighborhood as well,
and they got it bad, like they were getting jumped,
beat mostly robed, because at that time they were looked
on as not intelligent. All the Polish jokes you could imagine.
(14:49):
I heard it all. So I would always have not
a camaraderie, but I would always feel like I feel
your pain, you know what I'm saying, Because you're being
attacked and assaulted and robbed, and so am I. But
the way I feel it shake me is because my
mom and dad that that adopted me, they never made
(15:10):
me feel like I was adopted. You know, I thought
I was my mother's biological baby because she said it
in a Puerto Rican way, which I won't say verbally
on the show because it's a curse word, but she
basically said, you came out of my body whenever asked
me again. And I would be like, okay, We'm be
(15:31):
you sure, And it was like that movie is a jerk,
you know where it's Steve Martin, you know where they
tell him we have to tell you something and he's like,
what is it, Mama, Because baby, you're not our baby,
you adopted? He was like, what do you want? I'm
not black? You know, It's felt like it was the
reverse for me. But because of the fighting and the
(15:52):
violence and the constant racism that I I had, there
was very few friends that I had, and those friends
that I did have, I cherished. Like Michelle Hilberger, John Control,
John was another half. He was he was black Puerto
Rican and he got the blunt of it too, but
(16:13):
he was a big He was a big boy, so
none of those cats wanted to fight him, but he
still had to fight. He was the only child Catholic school,
and when we first met, sort of like what happened
with you? The white kids were like, you guys gotta fight.
They were like, what is that fight? And I'm like what.
(16:37):
Somebody pushed me and somebody pushed him. And to this day, uh,
I have a scar on my leg from that fight.
And but I guess it allowed me to learn how
to run quickly, move quickly, think quickly, being in an
environment that was just horrible. It also allowed me to
(16:59):
be friend. My wife says, Johnny, you know you give
so much. And you know, I forgot what the word
she uses, but it basically means you're a pleaser. And
I say I'm not a pleaser, and she'd like, no,
you always give and give and given and people don't
give you back and where does that come from? And
I and sometimes I see myself, you know what, I
(17:20):
was always trying to be friends with the neighbors. Again,
I didn't know what. Why why were the kids next
door during these beautiful, elaborate backyard birthday parties I had?
I was I was raising a home myself, but I
was never invited. So I was staying in front of
the house, see the kids coming out with the triangular
(17:40):
circular hats and little candy bags, and I'm like, how
was the party? Was good? What kind of kick was that?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Man? And what is it? Ignorance is bliss? I had
no idea. I wasn't invited for the reasons of race,
and I'd be like, wow, man, so and so how
was the party? And meanwhile I walked to school with you.
You know, parents as racist as the child. I can't
(18:06):
blame but the parents. So later on, you know, when
I got the chance to start doing photography, I just
know that empathy not sometimes sympathy allows me to look
at people's conditions and despite the stupidity, I will look
(18:28):
past that and find a way to find a link
between me and this individual. You know, how can I
turn this from hate to love? How can I maybe
show them my value if given a chance in their life,
and maybe I could change their way of thinking? And
(19:02):
like you uh. I went on a trip to Europe
with one of my clients and there was a guy
named Rod dou and Rod grew up with my client,
and they were all from Harlem and we're in Paris
and London and Milan and all the time I'm with
this group of brothers. For whatever reason, the dude does
(19:25):
can we curse on your shoulders? I don't want to
really say bad.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Oh, you just say what you have to say.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
He was like, Yo, why you brought this niggag with us? Man?
Who the fuck is this nigga right here? And I'm like,
oh my god, like I'm gonna be exposed, you know.
And it was like a wolf pack of Harlem cats,
and they all were like group together. The client was
rich and he had brought all of his neighborhood with him.
(19:50):
And I'm like, oh my god, I can't believe I'm
being called out like that. And it's a big guy,
and I don't I don't want this first trip to
Europe to be my last trip to Europe.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
You know, Like I just let to have a good time.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
And I'm like I didn't hear that, you know, And
they're like yo, you know, like go do something like
why are you standing here? Go take a picture of
a fucking wall. Get out of my face like that.
I would like would just like leave, you know, and
I'd hear some chuckles and laughs. So next thing, you know,
the uh in the French Riviera, in the French riviaa
(20:25):
vanity fair through a party during the Canon Film Festival,
same group, same trip, and Helmi Campbell was doing the
marketing that time for the client. So as here we
are a bunch of brothers from New York City standing
behind the Helmy Campbell and they said no, big old
circle with a camera and a line across, like, no cameras.
(20:48):
So I said, Naomi, I guess I'll wait with the driver.
She's like, no, we're getting in here and you getting
that camera here. She said, dismantle your camera. So I
took the lens off the body. He took the body
went right there. She said, all right, take your lens.
Someone put the lens in there and you know, under
their armpit, and then you take the flash, put in
your purse and a bit metal detector. Nail me, cambell,
(21:12):
what you're gonna say? Got on the other side. I
started to assemble my camera. I'm like, thinks, nail me,
you know. And so now we're at this vanity fair
party looking like the when Stefani Eve video shoot where
one side of the tuxedos. The other side is hip hop,
and so there goes that guy Raju just looking at me,
and I'm like, what am I gonna do to like
(21:34):
get this person to leave me alone? So I see
Mick Jagger, Harvey Weinstein and uh Sting talking. So I
ran over to them and I said, excuse me, Mick Jagger,
big fan uh Sting, do you mind if I get
the three of you to drop the rock sound for
Rockafella Records? And he goes, well, what does that mean.
(21:56):
I'm like, oh, it's the universal sign of peace and love.
So Sting immediately one like that. Harvey want did it?
I fixed his hands just before, and then Jacket didn't
want to do it. No, no, and I said, and
then things said come on, and then finally make one
like this like this, Harvey Want like that and Sting
(22:18):
like this, the three of them. And then I went
back to the entourage and I said to Damon Dash look,
I took this picture. And then Radu said, holy ship,
you got Sting the dope the rock.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I fuck with you now. I'll fuck with you now.
And then the whole trip throughout Africa London year, I
was now officially breaking the ice down with the crew.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Wow. I think I think that. I think that when
you there's something about that's very painful about being the
other when you're young that gives you the tools to
be able to navigate the world differently as you get older,
you know. And I know that when I look back
(23:02):
on that time, for me, there's the part of me
that is looking at like the little girl and me like,
oh my gosh, girl, Oh you were by yourself, you know,
you felt like you were by yourself. And then there's
the other part of me that saw what was going on,
and I felt frustrated with the girl because I knew
(23:27):
that this was a situation of having two light skinned
people fight them fight each other, And I was like, you, dummy,
That's what I felt like, dummy, Like what are you doing?
Like what are you trying to prove? Like why are
you letting them, you know, put you in the situation
when we don't have any problem with each other. We
don't even know each other, you know. So I think
(23:47):
that do you think I'm kind of putting this in here,
I'm kind of serving this answer up to you, But
how do you think that has helped you like do
you do you call upon? Is that kind of what
it is like, finding a way to get people to
(24:10):
open up to kind of break through? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Is that how you see it?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Well? You know, my my mother was a saint, like
all of our mothers are. My biological mother. I got
a chance to meet her, and I won't say nothing
bad about her, but I love her and I forgive her.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
You have met her.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Yeah. She was on the Lower East Side Manhattan. And
my mom, who raised me and adopted me, she was
like a civil servant. She was always helping the poor.
We was poor, but she would still give to the homeless.
Neighbors would come over and one of our sugar or flour.
(24:50):
My mother would get whatever we had. And I was
always like, I was always curious, but always wondering, like
why why were giving and giving? My mother would always
tell me, you know, giving God will return it back tenfold.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
I believe that one thousand.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, And unfortunately, when I was ten she passed away.
So on that note, giving was something that was already embedded,
embedded in me. So when I came of age and
I was going to college and excuse me, high school,
I would it's gonna sound funny, But I lived in Brentwell,
(25:30):
Nolland at this time, and my friends would say, we're
gonna sneak out of our houses and go to New
York City to dance house music in the nightclubs. So
here I was, like fifteen, sixteen years old, sneaking out
of the window to take out take the long Railroad
into New York City. Because the Sound Factory, the Red Zone,
(25:51):
the tunnel, the underground, all those clubs were, you know
in the in the twenties and thirties by the West
Side Highway, that's right. And because I used to feed
the homeless and be part of my church. In the
soup kitchen, I would tell the supermarket that I worked at,
let me buy a hundred slices of cheese, and then
(26:12):
I would go to the to the to the Dunkin Donuts,
and I've made a relationship with one of the workers
that listen, we can't give you old food, but what
we can do is tell you when we're gonna throw
it out in the back. We talk all of our
donuts and bagels at eleven o'clock in the hefty bag.
So the day before I was going out to the nightclub.
(26:33):
I would go in the garbage jumpster take out all
these bagels and croissants, and so then the next day
would come, I'd have the cheese and the refrigerator, and
because I worked at the supermarket, I would get like
a hundred bags, two hundred bags. I take all the
products that they were going to get rid of the
next day, apples, oranges, And on the train, I literally
(26:54):
made my friends make sandwiches. So here we were making
sandwiches on the train. Some of my friends like, I
can't believe this. We're going to a nightclub and we're
gonna smell like apples and now. And by the time
we got the station, the time we got the penstation
from Brentwood, we had made one hundred eggs of food.
So throughout Penstation I would just be giving the sandwiches
(27:16):
away with my friends and I'm like, don't you feel good?
And I'm like, no, I don't want to ever come
out dancing with you ever again.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
But they did it. Yeah, So Johnny, this was you
sneaking out. Yes, this is part of your sneak out.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
I couldn't think about it. It was crazy because here we
were fifteen fourteen years old, sneaking into nightclubs that you
had to be eighteen. You would give the bodyguard like
a fight dollar bill or whatever the inkleman was at
the time. You know, okay, I saw you. You can
go inside.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
And that's not sneaking out from like Brooklyn, like Brentwood
is out there. He was sneaking out of your house
in Brentwood to go all that's like an hour and
a half home around.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Four or five in the morning at the last train
that would take us to run Conker the Lake and
next you know, Johnny get ready to school. I'm like, yeah,
I had.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Listen, listen those I had to. I'm dating myself. But
New York City at that time, the clubbing in New
York City at that time was amazing, amazing, Like it
was fun times, fun, fun times. And I know I'm
speaking to a photographer, but it wasn't about the camera.
(28:37):
It was about dancing and sweating your behind off and
having a good time. Stop yeah, yes, yeah, and dancing
while you're drinking and like have your drink, but it
was really like for hydration and literally dancing for seven
(28:57):
eight hours straight and then and you go have breakfast
at a diner somewhere in the city. Yeah, and then
you go home to every wherever you lived. Wow, what
a time, What a time you've been. And I'm not
going to ask you the question about how you decided
to become a photographer. And here's the reason why, because
(29:21):
you've told that story before and I want to hear
some new things from you. So for those of you
who are listening, if you want to hear the incredible
story of how Johnny noonez decided to become a photographer
and his encounter with God in doing that, I highly
(29:42):
recommend that you find it and listen to it so
we can get some extra stuff in here.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Oh no, total right. That was from set Freeze podcast.
Sef free is a curator of art. You have to
meet him. I'm sure you may have met him before.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Amazing art space in Brooklyn, and as you could see,
he's you and him got to me. I can't wait.
I can't wait to introduce you both. But a funny story.
Funny story, it's not funny. But I was just telling
a friend the other day that how I became one
of Michael Jordan's photographers was I was on twenty Third
(30:23):
Street and Park Avenue, and I literally I was dating
my wife at the time, new girlfriend, and I had
very little money as a photographer. And I called one
of my clients that owed me money, and as you know,
probably l that when you have your own business, you
kind of get paid and they pay you. If they
(30:43):
can try to not pay you, they'll try. If they
try to, they can also try to make you wait
a long time to pay you the worst. So I
was waiting on a thousand dollars, I think, and I
called the person like, hey, how's it going so and
so they're like, hey, what's going on? How you doing?
I'm like, I'm fine, but I'm really calling you about
the check. Can I come pick it up? Are you
(31:03):
gonna mail it to me? Well, I'm not here right now.
I'm actually out of the country. I return next week.
It was one of those like funky messages, and I
was just like livid because all I had was like
twenty dollars on me, and I was like wondering, how
am I gonna pay for certain things? And I gotta
go take my girlfriend now, And all of a sudden,
(31:24):
a morbidly obese brother comes over to me with a
dirty shirt. Hold on it, big old gut, I said,
a big old gut, not physically, but just like, what
do you want man? He goes, I need some money,
I said, you want to move. In my mind, I'm like,
I have no money. I have a thousand dollars I
(31:46):
was depending on. I have twenty bucks in my pocket.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I got this woman I want to take out.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
I want to have. This is not a good night.
And I'm like, you know what, I said, in my mind,
I got paid love. I said, that's right, you know what.
Let me see. Let me give him one last chance
before I curse him out. I said, if I give
you this money, what are you going to do with it?
Because I'm thinking if he says anything about like I'm
gonna go smoke and weed, or if he says anything
(32:10):
about drugs, I'm gonna let him have it. He goes,
I really don't care about the money. I just want food.
I said, you just want food. Today's your lucky day.
Come with me. So we crossed out the street on
twenty third Street and we're walking towards Madison Avenue and
there was a subway sandwich spot on the left hand side.
I said, you cool. The sandwich. He's like, yes, he said,
(32:32):
come on, let's go. I opened up the door. We
went in and I immediately began to see people covering
their noses and people were like taking away from him,
and I like, you know, that's really cool that you
would treat someone like that. But you know, it is
what it is. I said, hey, aw, I made up
a name like what you want on a sandwich, you know,
(32:53):
Turkey Swiss with let us tomatoes. Man, all right, go
get some chips from over there, because I'm gonna make
your order right now. So I said, began to make
the sandwich and he got his chips. I said, you know,
I grabbed the sandwich and said, here, take this back
to work. Tell our boss that I'll see you in
twenty minutes. I'm just running late. All right, out, you
take care, bro He left, and I got to the register.
(33:14):
I said, how much is that sandwich? Like, you know,
eleven dollars whatever it was, And in my mind I
was arguing with myself, like we broke before, but now
we're even more broke. Johnny good idea to give away
the only money that you had. Now, what you're gonna do?
You know? So I'm over here in my mind, arguing
(33:38):
with myself out and I get to the door in
the phone rings. Just as I grabbed the door from
the subways to exit, the phone rang. I picked it up.
I said hello. They said, hello, is this Johnny Unais.
I'm like, yes, this is Johnny UNA's. You came under
a great, great recommendation and we want to know are
(33:58):
you available to graph for us tomorrow and the next day? Well,
two day job. I'm like two day job. I'm like yeah,
I can and go. Well, what is your half a
day rate? And what is your whole day rate? And
I'm like, my whole day rate? I said, you know what,
since you're a new friend of mine, I don't know.
(34:19):
Tell me what do you What do you think? He said, Well,
how's seven thousand dollars sound? I said seven? I said,
give me one second.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Hold on.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
I was like I was going crazy. I'm like, seven
thousand dollars. This is like nineteen ninety eight, nineteen. I'm like, uh,
you know, yes, that sounds cool. Because so we need
your routing number in your account number so we can
send you And why are you half the amount up front?
And when the job is done? Well, why are you
the other half, and I'm like, well, I don't have
(34:49):
my account, my router number of my account number on you.
Right now, I'm heading home so I can get it
for you this minute. You send the stat we will
why you have the money? So I was I was like, okay,
that's great. So I'm thinking, like, so that's like three
five hundred dollars. I said, so I guess some thirty
five hundred. She said, no, no, no, no, We're gonna say
(35:11):
you have the money. It's three events. I'm like, three
events because mister noon Is it'll be seven thousand dollars
per event, so it'll be a total twenty one thousand,
but we'll give you one half of front. I said, so,
who is the client if you don't mind me asking,
Michael Jordan it's his dinner and his private Jordan Brand
(35:31):
Classics event. I said, thank you very much. I wound
up for the next three years shooting his Michael Jordan
Brand Classics festival or event. And that is like an
example of like how I feel God is giving me opportunities,
(35:52):
not because I was cool, not because you know, I
gotta do things to show people who I am. I
feel when you do acts of kindness when where they're
not seen, God sees it and you will be blessed.
I'm a walking, living testimony that. And yeah, un till
(36:14):
this day. I work with Nike, and I work with
some of the big, the big people like Lary Miller
and Reggie Reggie Saunders. These are just amazing people at Nike.
That gave me an opportunity. But again I feel that
when I gave that guy that sandwich, that was actually
(36:35):
an angel. I don't homeless, yeah, but in my heart
I knew, well that was planted by God.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
You know, for those listening, there's a couple of things
that are coming up hearing the story. One is I too,
am a walking testimony to listening. There are times where
(37:04):
I will hear something and not the hearing and the
just like yes, do that. And I always know when
it's that confirmation that like when you obey that voice,
it always works out for good. And it's not always
(37:25):
about like the money on the end of it, like
it always for me. That is the cloud that moves
my steps from one place to another, from one situation
to another, from one person to another. So there's that,
you know, listening listening to the voice when you hear it,
(37:46):
when you sense it, no matter how crazy it may
seem when you're looking at the situation through the lens
of what people deem normal or what makes sense. The
second part of it is what happens when you continue
(38:07):
on your path. Because you were a photographer, you were
struggling in that moment, waiting, and the experience of being
an entrepreneur is challenging. It takes guts, it takes courage,
it takes risk, it takes patience, and for those folks
(38:29):
who are listening, the encouragement that it's going to work out,
do the thing that you feel led to do, because
sometimes it's tough, and it also has a way of
working out when you are on your path and doing
the right thing. You know, so thank you for sharing
(38:52):
that story.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Thank you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
You know, it just reminds me of so many times
where I was just I didn't know what was going on,
I didn't know how, and something would happen and I
would still and I'd have people like say, like, you're crazy,
Like what are you given to this person for? What
are you spending your time or whatever the thing is,
(39:16):
But what you know in your heart you know, in
your heart, thank you don't much, Johnny, You've been One
of the things about your reputation is that you never
(39:40):
post an unflattering photo. You know, never have ever been
pressured to break that rule.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Many times, many times. I haven't been invited to dangerous
and I want to say dangerous, I've been invited to
crazy parties where you will see crazy things. Something in
my gut set don't go. Or or the minute I
walked in, I saw so and so doing this with
(40:08):
so and so, and I'm like, I didn't see that.
I didn't see that, And any other photographer would have
totally cashed out on that. But I said, you know
what you you know, you you eat what you kill
in life. But at the same time, you don't pooh
where you eat. And the minute you publicate that image
(40:30):
or an inquirer or one of them, you know, tabloid
type of publications, post that and it's your name. You
just you just shot yourself in the foot. You'll never
work in that part of town ever again. And I
always tell people, you know, be be kind to everybody,
(40:50):
from the receptionist to the executives. Be nice and be
kind because you never know who that receptionist is going
to be. You never know that executive might be on
top of tomorrow, he might be the custodian. So I always,
uh always humble myself to people so that you know,
you never know what life will be like tomorrow. But
(41:15):
you know, blessings to the people that do love being
nice to people, because when that person that's working in
the front desk whinds up becoming an executive at another
company and they remember you, Johnny, I need you to
cover my event? How much your rate? Oh man? Yo
pay him three? Three events in advance Like now, that
doesn't really happen all the time, But my point is
(41:36):
that you have to you definitely, in our industry, you
have to be respectful and mindful of all the people. Now,
to answer the question, I've always been given that temptation
(41:56):
to release images by people. Why don't you let that
pitch and goal? You know? And I'm like, no, because
it's going to damage this person's career. You could also
damage my career. And more than anything, my mom used
to say, if you ain't got nothing nice to say,
don't see nothing, you know, And I still to this day,
(42:17):
I don't want to be part of the problem. I
want to be part of the solution, you know, and
I feel love is real if you if you if
you guard it, if you protect it, love can help.
But if you love harm and greed and evil, you know,
(42:38):
it corrupts, it's chaos, and you be part of that.
Or you could choose not to be part of You
can choose love, you know, it's the choice.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
It's the choice. I think sometimes people act like the
norm is cut throat, take what you can get, don't
you know, protect yourself at all costs. And I live
a different reality, and I know you do as well,
and I know many people who do. And I also
(43:11):
have witnessed and know through my own experience that when
you live by the principles of love, when you live
by the principles of God, gives you know. I'm okay,
I can have this experience with someone here and it's
going to come back somewhere else. I don't have to
hold it to that person. You wind up attracting that,
(43:37):
you know, And that to me is what you reap
what you sew is I mean so often people see
that scripture as from the negative. You reap what they got,
what they deserve. You reap what you sell. Conversely, we
reap what we sew, meaning where you put your energy
is what's going to grow in your life. And so
(43:58):
if you put your energy into kindness and into generosity
and into empathy and compassion, I am a living, living
witness and testament to how that creates that energy within
you but also around you. I'm gonna ask you a
(44:19):
couple as we're getting short on time, I'm gonna ask
you a couple of like quick round questions. Sure you
got a minute for him?
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Of course? Of course you have been.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Documenting hip hop for decades. When you scroll through the
photos that you've taken, which ones still surprise you?
Speaker 1 (44:39):
And why jay Z and Nas toasting on jay Z's
shirt and said Notorious Big. I call that the hip
hop Trinity shot because jay Z calls himself Hovah Jehovah,
and then Nas has tattooed on his belly Godson. And
then because Diggy was and in the shot, but the shirt
(45:02):
said notorious BRG. That's the spirit. So you have the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So that's my hip
hop Trinity shot. It actually is in the living room
of DJ Calim. You know. It also is I'm going
to have an exhibit in December in Miami. During Arbasm,
(45:22):
I might make one of those prints and then another one.
Although you've seen I won't say the person was an imposter.
But back when I started, several photographers would take their camera,
not necessarily from our culture, but they were there was
their job to be the photographer, even if they didn't
(45:44):
like the music or the culture. So what they would
do is this, and they still do it to this day.
They'll wait for me, someone that might know the artists
and might know the music and the culture, and they'll
just stand there like this. In a minute, I get
mob d Nahs, Royal flush look over here, and now
(46:04):
I got them. I went all through the work to
get them together. The minute I take my camera out,
but start shooting right away, and then the artists do
this and then I go, oh no, look over here,
look over here, And by that time they're like, yo's
what's going on and they start talking and you just
sold my shot. You just ruined the moment, and they
(46:26):
they just walk away.
Speaker 2 (46:28):
Like yeah because they got their Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And so there's a famous picture of camera with a
pink cell phone and a pink fur that was my shot.
But I was shooting with film and this individual was
shooting with digital and she would always do this some
choice per camera and I would say, could you mean
your favor stop doing that. I don't do that to you,
Please don't do that to me. And she was, you know,
(46:51):
she would like complain in French that it's whatever, like
I don't really care. And so when I had the
role of film, I lived in Washington Heights at this point,
and my upstairs neighbor had a flood. All that water
trickled from the roof, I mean from the floor through
my roof and destroyed almost a quarter of my negatives.
(47:14):
When I got home, all my negative and when I
looked it was the Camon negatives, it was the four
y six is all destroyed. It was stuck together, and
I was just like, wow, I couldn't believe it. But
it wasn't important at the time. Next thing, that image
goes viral, you know, it goes viral. It's very it's
very people make Halloween costumes of with a pink fur coat,
(47:39):
pink cell phone, Motorola, baby fat foam, and lonsoy short. Recently,
I was archiving, looking through some old photos and through
the grace of God there it was one of the
original points of him on the phone. I'm like, yay, No,
I have no exhibit. Yeah, so, but those are some
(47:59):
great photo was Barack and shall Obama. Other great images
that I cherish is my son and daughter, Jeremiah and
Joy when they were babies.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
So I must have at least I know you have
amazing photos of those two.
Speaker 1 (48:18):
Yeah. My wife couldn't be any more happy. And those
are the greatest photos of my life.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
How old are your kids?
Speaker 1 (48:27):
My son Jeremiah, he is fifteen and he's presently at
Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts. And my daughter is thirteen.
She was a bank street here.
Speaker 2 (48:39):
Oh nice, nice, wow, look at you look at your
family that those are great ages. My kids have grown
as heckal yeah, you baby, I am a baby. I
am a baby. I had them before I got here,
that's right, you know, No, I have My son is
(49:03):
forty three and my daughter's thirty two.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
What, yes, you look like you're forty three maybe younger.
I was thinking, wow.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
Yeah, And I have two great kids. I have an
eight I have an eight year old granddaughter and an
eighteen year old grandson. And with all the things, the best,
the best, the best is us, you know, that's the
best as a family. Do you consider yourself a historian
(49:34):
or a photographer?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
I would like to say both, you know, and I'm
When I was doing it in the beginning, it was
because I believe God told me to do it and
I trusted. I still trust in him, and as a
result it later on, as I started to notice, like
(49:57):
I've got millions of photos of our culture, whether it's
from hip hop or Latin or sports or things that
affected the LGBQ community, I just felt I documented by
supporting all these directions of culture in this American society.
(50:19):
And as a result, now it went from photography to
photo journalism to being a historian, keeper keeper of the flame.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
You know you are a keeper of the flame, Johnny,
you are a keeper of the flame of this culture.
Speaker 1 (50:34):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (50:35):
Yeah, And I think thank you, And I think what's
so beautiful about that is that, just like the story
you were telling about setting up the shot and then
having other people take the shot that you set up,
you're telling the story of our culture in a way
that is filled with love and appreciation for the beauty
(50:58):
of our culture. You know, a few weeks ago. It
could have been a few months ago, because honestly, this
year has been a whirlwind for me. I saw and
you mentioned that you have an exhibition coming up, so
very excited about that. I'd love to hear more about
that again. Yes, yes, but I saw on the internets
(51:22):
that Swiss Beats was talking about supporting artists and supporting
photographers and the importance of that. And first of all,
I second that thank you. There is a work that
you have been doing for over two decades. Through work,
(51:46):
but also the result and consequence of that is that
you are documenting our history through beautiful eyes of love,
and we get to as culture, as a society, as
an American society, we get to enjoy the fact that
you and others like you have taken the time to
(52:09):
as artists to document history. You're doing it, my brother, Jean,
Michelle Bosquia did it, artists, other photographers, people in fashion
like our history is being documented, and I first of
all want to thank you for that, and secondly, I
(52:32):
for those who can encourage us to invest into the
art that we get to enjoy. It's not just about
getting being able to see a real on you know,
one of the social media platforms. You know, this is
someone's art. And so I think that no matter where
(52:56):
we are, no matter how much you have in your
checkbook from one day to the next, because it flips
you know, over life value art value art. It's the
thing that helps us to be sane. It's the thing
that helps us to laugh and remember, you know, different
(53:19):
times in history and we can't count on other people
to tell us when and how and who we are.
We get to do that ourselves, and let's support each
other in doing that. You know, will you tell us
about your exhibition at our basle?
Speaker 1 (53:38):
Yeah, as of right now, it may be collaborating with
Brooklyn shop House, which they're opening the grand opening December
two in Miami. So as as of right now, it's
going to be in that proximity. I'll get the information.
I'll definitely share it with you when I when I
(54:00):
I could in But I definitely also for the record,
would love to partner up with you again and do
something amazing in twenty twenty six. Maybe we could do it.
Speaker 2 (54:14):
I'm building my twenty twenty six calendar right now. That'd
be amazing. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I understand that you're
planning a book. Is that true or is that a armor?
Speaker 1 (54:27):
I'm in search of the right public publisher. So if
any feelers are out there, let us know. And currently
people have come with allful opportunities, but I don't know
how to explain it. I guess when the right time comes,
(54:47):
it'll come. You'll know.
Speaker 2 (54:49):
Yeah, what do you hope? So we talked about you
know that you are a historian absorts historian. I think
as much as you are a photographer. What would you
hope that people see what the future generation see when
they have the opportunity to encounter Johnny noon AZ's work.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
That I was able to capture an emotion suspended time,
That I was able to transplant the individual from where
they were into the actual frame as a witness seeing
what I saw and being the judge of that moment
(55:37):
seeing what I captured. And also so that we don't
get rock and rolled again, no other culture or race
could today. This came from them, you know, this is
this is like the Hebrews of Africa. There. We don't
(55:57):
start somewhere else in the middle. We don't start with
a book midway in the chapter of the book. We
start at the beginning, at the beginning, hip hop like
rock and roll, bebop, jazz, country, that's right, country music,
all black, you know. So that's what I want people
to see, that this is something that we did.
Speaker 2 (56:18):
Wow. My last question for you, mister nas, how can
we support you?
Speaker 1 (56:27):
You know, if there's any opportunities to exhibit my work
in any galleries overseas, especially because I feel like I'm
a big fish in a small pond. I'd love to
explore and collaborate with other artists and other gallery exhibits.
And my email is Johnny Nona's photo at gmail. My
(56:51):
Instagram is Johnny Noonaz j O H and n Y
Nunez is like New York City and U n e z.
Speaker 2 (56:59):
Okay, all right, Johnny. Every time I talk to you,
I learn something, I feel something, thank you, I feel inspiration, encouragement,
and I feel the joy of being connected to another
(57:20):
child of God. Who gets it, who gets it, who
gets it? That it's love who gets it. So I
cannot tell you enough. Thank you, Thank you for this conversation,
thank you for your time. Thank you for what you're
doing for the culture, what you're doing for society through
(57:44):
your cameras, but also through your contribution and your presence,
your incredible presence in this world. Thank you so much. Really,
I love you too. I love you too.
I've always been given that temptation to release images by people. Yo,
why don't you let that picture go? And I'm like no,
because it's going to damage this person's career. You could
also damage my career. And more than anything, my mom
used to say, if you ain't got nothing nice to say,
don't see nothing. I don't want to be part of
(00:26):
the problem or to be part of the solution. Love
is real if you guard it, If you protect it,
love can help.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to the Shaping Freedom Podcast, where we dive into
conversations that inspire personal growth, transformation and clarity and challenging times.
I'm your host, Lisan Bosquiato. I am moved and very
excited to introduce this next podcast guest, Johnny Neunez is
(00:57):
more than a photographer. He's a cultural archivist whose lens
has shaped how the world sees hip hop, black excellence
and modern celebrity for almost twenty years. He's been trusted
by legends from Jay Z to Beyonce Nas to Lebron
James and many others. And he's been trusted by those
(01:20):
folks because he does something that is very rare in
this era of clickbait and exposure and sensationalism. He protects dignity.
His philosophy of never taking an unflattering photo is a
radical act of integrity. And a world obsessed with tearing
(01:41):
people down and tearing them up at a time when
truth and authenticity are being distorted by filters, AI and
viral culture, Johnny's work reminds us of the power of
human connection, trust, and presence. Today, we're not going to
talk just about photography, going to talk about legacy, resilience,
(02:03):
and what it means to bear witness with honor and respect.
This conversation is about the man who has become the
keeper of memory for an entire generation, for an entire culture.
Johnny Newonz, Welcome to the Shaping Freedom podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We You and I worked together briefly during the King
Pleasure exhibition that Johnny and I did, my sister and
I did for our brother Shemesha Boskia and I had
heard about you and had kind of watched you from Afar,
and one of the things that I noticed instantly about
(02:53):
you when we had the opportunity to actually encounter each
other in person was just what I just described that
you were taking photos in a way that was so
meticulously careful and aware, and it was different and it
(03:16):
felt different. And that's no shade to any photographer at all,
But there is a secret sauce that you had in
the way that you interact with other human beings that
is unique and so respectful and so filled with such
integrity that I instantly wanted to know who the man
(03:37):
behind the camera was.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah. And then a couple of weeks later, I think,
or maybe it was leading up. I think it was afterwards,
we did an IG live together and that was when
I got I had the chance to learn a little
bit more about who you were. And the event was
it was the It was in celebration of the fifty
(04:02):
years of hip hop and Ari Melbourne hosted m Seed
the event Jeannie and I hosted and my granddaughter Emma
got to have Dougie freshbebop for her. Yeah, and Gil
was on the Gil Vazquez and Rhapsody were on the stage.
(04:25):
It was a beautiful, beautiful event. So, Johnny, I don't
even know where to start. I understand that you were
adopted by a Puerto Rican family. Yeah, as a child,
and that you were raised in Brooklyn and that very
(04:45):
often you were the only black kid in your neighborhood.
H can you share a little bit about your about
your upbringing where in Brooklyn.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
I was in Greenpoine, Brooklyn, and thank you the signed
for that introduction. I really really touch my heart, you know.
So I just want to say thank you and your
gracious family, you know, beautiful family, Gail Gallagher and Ari
Mober and all of those other individuals that helped bring
this project together when we first got to collaborate. So
I just want to thank you again for the opportunity
(05:18):
and to.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Your sister, you're welcome. Aileen Gallagher, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Eileen Gallagher. Yeah. But I wanted to say, well, growing
up in Green Point, Brooklyn, it was definitely not the
Brooklyn that you see now. As I was mentioning, there
were immigrants, but for whatever reason, it was just a
(05:43):
terrible time with racism. And I would walk to PS
thirty four, which was the school my elementary school, and
I would see rocks zip by me them bottles and
would be I would be scared. And back then, I
don't even know how our parents would let us walk
to school at the age of six or seven, and
sometimes there would be a parent, sometimes there wasn't. There
(06:04):
was just a bunch of seven year old eight year
olds walking together, which I would never have that happen now.
But then as time regressed, you know, I would go
to school and there would be white kids saying three
o'clock nigger or three o'clock spick, and I would be like,
I would tell my teachers, Hey, I don't know what
(06:27):
a nigger is or what a spick is, but they're
doing this. And of course the teachers knew what it meant,
but they were like, when street clock, we opening that door,
and you gotta.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Go home, get out there.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
So you would think that there would be some layer
of protection. Sometimes I would look through the glass and
I would see like the whole schoolyard filled with white
boys just waiting for me, and I would beg the
professor and the teachers, is there another way out? And
sometimes the hall monitors would take me through the basement
and I would go out to the back and I
(07:01):
would just be like, I would not understand what is
it about me that this problem was? And so later
on my mom was like, look wait for me at
the school. I'm gonna come and pick you up personally,
or your brother's gonna come and pick you up. So
it was some days I would wait very long because
my mom would work, my dad would work, and I
(07:23):
couldn't wait in that corner because little by little I
start to see one guy and another guy and three,
and before you know it, nigger that word. I started
running through this running home and rocks and bottles. I
sometimes got struck with the rock. I'll never forget. One day,
I was running to hopefully ring a bell of a
(07:48):
stranger's home because they were gaining on me. And I
rang a bell and before I knew it, and I
was probably like eight or nine years old, I rang
the bell to tell the person please help me. I'm
being chased by my mind. And next thing now I
hear and they opened the door and let the German
shepherd chase me. So now on top of cars, running
(08:11):
on top of cars. On one side, I got all
these crazy races boys, and on the other side, I
got a dog just gnarling to bite me. And I
would be standing on someone's car, and it's like enough
attention for neighbors to say, hey, leave them alone, you know.
But there was a good part of my block. And
(08:33):
if you made it to the block. I had the
white kids on my block. They were cool, they would fight,
My brothers would be there, whoever was on my block.
It was like the safety zone. So I still didn't
understand racism, but now I was beginning to understand the
color was something that had to do with it.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
What is this thing about? You know, I grew up
in Brooklyn. I grew up in Burham Hill, and at
first in Flatbush and then Borham Hill. And what's what
I'm remembering, Johnny is I grew up in Borham Hill.
We grew up in a brownstone, and we went to
(09:13):
school in uh Carroll Gardens and and also u PS
thirty eight, which is right on Pacific Street in Brooklyn.
And I had the opposite, well not the opposite, it
was the same thing because I would go to school
and I'd mind my business, just go to school. I'm
(09:34):
just trying to go to school. Well, I'm like a
little kid trying to get to school. And I go
to school and I remember this one day, and you know,
I would I would get these comments about me being
light skinned, right, and these are you know, it was
very diverse. You know, there's a lot of black kids
in the class in the school, and I remember these
(09:55):
these two girls, and there was one girl who's light skinned,
another girl who was darker and h and they would
try to jump me every single day. They would be
waiting for me every single day. And then this one
day I heard from a group of kids that I
was supposed to be fighting somebody at the school. I
(10:19):
heard like, at three o'clock, you're fighting this So I'm
not gonna name her name, just in case she's grown
out of this nonsense. But they're like, you're gonna fight
with this person after school, and I'm like what. So
at the end of school, I went to go. I
went to the candy store to go get a little
bag of candy. I would do that every day, and
I got my little back of candy. I'm just like
(10:40):
walking mind in my business, my only son business. And
they're like, yeah, she is. They would have to fight, fight, fight, fight,
And we go down and took uh and a bunch
of them got behind me and the rest of them
got behind her and pushed us into each other so
that we would fight. And I'm not, I'm not, I wasn't.
(11:03):
That's not a natural thing for me. But I was
so scared that I whipped that girl's ass. I was terrified.
I was like I did, I was like, what are
we doing? Wait a minute, and she started to cry.
And I but what I was really mad about, because
it shows you how greedy my ass is. I was
(11:25):
mad because my candy, my little baker KNDy, got knocked
out of my hand, and the candy we're flying to
the ground. So that's all I was thinking about, is my.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Candy ruined my ritual.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
He ruined my ritual, so pissed off. That must be
the virgo in me. And I went and after I
fought her, and she's sitting there all crying and whatever.
And I just went and picked up my candy and
put it in the bag and kept on going home.
But nobody at home knew because my father worked and
I didn't, you know, it was just me after school,
(12:00):
and I was little. I think I was in like
the third I'm the age that my granddaughter is right now.
I was about or eight years old in the third grade.
And I walked home by myself, crossed the street and everything,
got home washed, my face, got it together, and sat
there with my family that night and never told anyone. No.
(12:22):
I mean, it's just it's anyway. I don't even know
how we got there.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Why didn't you want to tell them?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I think I think that I don't know. I got
to think about that one. I think it was I mean,
somebody would have done something. I guess you know what
it is. I think that school going to and I'm
gonna say going to school in Brooklyn at that time,
But I have a feeling that that's the case in
(12:50):
so many places. It's almost like you go to school
and it's a world in and of itself, you know,
and you go there and it's really all about the
report card at the end of a semester, but that
world and the ways that that children interact with each other,
unless there's someone who's honed into that. I felt like
(13:12):
once I went to school, I was kind of in
my own world, and that's you know what what people did?
I suppose, you know, but I didn't. It wasn't like
I was like, hey, somebody, they tried to fight me,
and this is what happened.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Have you survived? Have you survived? Me too?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Me too? But what I do wonder is I know
that that experience, and I had several other experiences, and
a lot of it was light skin, dark skin, or
you talk this way, or your Haitian or your Puerto
Rican or whatever the things are that we decide, you know,
or I'm mad at you because I live in the
(13:54):
projects and you live in Borum Hill and who do
you think you are? And all this kind of nonsense.
It was a lot of that, and I know that
it's shaped for me certain aspects of the adult that
I am today. So I'm wondering for you, having experienced that,
how you think that may have influenced or impacted the
(14:17):
person that you are today.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Yeah, so you know, I think for sharing that as.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Well, welcome. Thank you for helping me bring that out.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Thank you, thank you. In all fairness, there were the
Polish immigrants that had come to my neighborhood as well,
and they got it bad, like they were getting jumped,
beat mostly robed, because at that time they were looked
on as not intelligent. All the Polish jokes you could imagine.
(14:49):
I heard it all. So I would always have not
a camaraderie, but I would always feel like I feel
your pain, you know what I'm saying, Because you're being
attacked and assaulted and robbed, and so am I. But
the way I feel it shake me is because my
mom and dad that that adopted me, they never made
(15:10):
me feel like I was adopted. You know, I thought
I was my mother's biological baby because she said it
in a Puerto Rican way, which I won't say verbally
on the show because it's a curse word, but she
basically said, you came out of my body whenever asked
me again. And I would be like, okay, We'm be
(15:31):
you sure, And it was like that movie is a jerk,
you know where it's Steve Martin, you know where they
tell him we have to tell you something and he's like,
what is it, Mama, Because baby, you're not our baby,
you adopted? He was like, what do you want? I'm
not black? You know, It's felt like it was the
reverse for me. But because of the fighting and the
(15:52):
violence and the constant racism that I I had, there
was very few friends that I had, and those friends
that I did have, I cherished. Like Michelle Hilberger, John Control,
John was another half. He was he was black Puerto
Rican and he got the blunt of it too, but
(16:13):
he was a big He was a big boy, so
none of those cats wanted to fight him, but he
still had to fight. He was the only child Catholic school,
and when we first met, sort of like what happened
with you? The white kids were like, you guys gotta fight.
They were like, what is that fight? And I'm like what.
(16:37):
Somebody pushed me and somebody pushed him. And to this day, uh,
I have a scar on my leg from that fight.
And but I guess it allowed me to learn how
to run quickly, move quickly, think quickly, being in an
environment that was just horrible. It also allowed me to
(16:59):
be friend. My wife says, Johnny, you know you give
so much. And you know, I forgot what the word
she uses, but it basically means you're a pleaser. And
I say I'm not a pleaser, and she'd like, no,
you always give and give and given and people don't
give you back and where does that come from? And
I and sometimes I see myself, you know what, I
(17:20):
was always trying to be friends with the neighbors. Again,
I didn't know what. Why why were the kids next
door during these beautiful, elaborate backyard birthday parties I had?
I was I was raising a home myself, but I
was never invited. So I was staying in front of
the house, see the kids coming out with the triangular
(17:40):
circular hats and little candy bags, and I'm like, how
was the party? Was good? What kind of kick was that?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Man? And what is it? Ignorance is bliss? I had
no idea. I wasn't invited for the reasons of race,
and I'd be like, wow, man, so and so how
was the party? And meanwhile I walked to school with you.
You know, parents as racist as the child. I can't
(18:06):
blame but the parents. So later on, you know, when
I got the chance to start doing photography, I just
know that empathy not sometimes sympathy allows me to look
at people's conditions and despite the stupidity, I will look
(18:28):
past that and find a way to find a link
between me and this individual. You know, how can I
turn this from hate to love? How can I maybe
show them my value if given a chance in their life,
and maybe I could change their way of thinking? And
(19:02):
like you uh. I went on a trip to Europe
with one of my clients and there was a guy
named Rod dou and Rod grew up with my client,
and they were all from Harlem and we're in Paris
and London and Milan and all the time I'm with
this group of brothers. For whatever reason, the dude does
(19:25):
can we curse on your shoulders? I don't want to
really say bad.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Oh, you just say what you have to say.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
He was like, Yo, why you brought this niggag with us? Man?
Who the fuck is this nigga right here? And I'm like,
oh my god, like I'm gonna be exposed, you know.
And it was like a wolf pack of Harlem cats,
and they all were like group together. The client was
rich and he had brought all of his neighborhood with him.
(19:50):
And I'm like, oh my god, I can't believe I'm
being called out like that. And it's a big guy,
and I don't I don't want this first trip to
Europe to be my last trip to Europe.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
You know, Like I just let to have a good time.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
And I'm like I didn't hear that, you know, And
they're like yo, you know, like go do something like
why are you standing here? Go take a picture of
a fucking wall. Get out of my face like that.
I would like would just like leave, you know, and
I'd hear some chuckles and laughs. So next thing, you know,
the uh in the French Riviera, in the French riviaa
(20:25):
vanity fair through a party during the Canon Film Festival,
same group, same trip, and Helmi Campbell was doing the
marketing that time for the client. So as here we
are a bunch of brothers from New York City standing
behind the Helmy Campbell and they said no, big old
circle with a camera and a line across, like, no cameras.
(20:48):
So I said, Naomi, I guess I'll wait with the driver.
She's like, no, we're getting in here and you getting
that camera here. She said, dismantle your camera. So I
took the lens off the body. He took the body
went right there. She said, all right, take your lens.
Someone put the lens in there and you know, under
their armpit, and then you take the flash, put in
your purse and a bit metal detector. Nail me, cambell,
(21:12):
what you're gonna say? Got on the other side. I
started to assemble my camera. I'm like, thinks, nail me,
you know. And so now we're at this vanity fair
party looking like the when Stefani Eve video shoot where
one side of the tuxedos. The other side is hip hop,
and so there goes that guy Raju just looking at me,
and I'm like, what am I gonna do to like
(21:34):
get this person to leave me alone? So I see
Mick Jagger, Harvey Weinstein and uh Sting talking. So I
ran over to them and I said, excuse me, Mick Jagger,
big fan uh Sting, do you mind if I get
the three of you to drop the rock sound for
Rockafella Records? And he goes, well, what does that mean.
(21:56):
I'm like, oh, it's the universal sign of peace and love.
So Sting immediately one like that. Harvey want did it?
I fixed his hands just before, and then Jacket didn't
want to do it. No, no, and I said, and
then things said come on, and then finally make one
like this like this, Harvey Want like that and Sting
(22:18):
like this, the three of them. And then I went
back to the entourage and I said to Damon Dash look,
I took this picture. And then Radu said, holy ship,
you got Sting the dope the rock.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I fuck with you now. I'll fuck with you now.
And then the whole trip throughout Africa London year, I
was now officially breaking the ice down with the crew.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Wow. I think I think that. I think that when
you there's something about that's very painful about being the
other when you're young that gives you the tools to
be able to navigate the world differently as you get older,
you know. And I know that when I look back
(23:02):
on that time, for me, there's the part of me
that is looking at like the little girl and me like,
oh my gosh, girl, Oh you were by yourself, you know,
you felt like you were by yourself. And then there's
the other part of me that saw what was going on,
and I felt frustrated with the girl because I knew
(23:27):
that this was a situation of having two light skinned
people fight them fight each other, And I was like, you, dummy,
That's what I felt like, dummy, Like what are you doing?
Like what are you trying to prove? Like why are
you letting them, you know, put you in the situation
when we don't have any problem with each other. We
don't even know each other, you know. So I think
(23:47):
that do you think I'm kind of putting this in here,
I'm kind of serving this answer up to you, But
how do you think that has helped you like do
you do you call upon? Is that kind of what
it is like, finding a way to get people to
(24:10):
open up to kind of break through? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Is that how you see it?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Well? You know, my my mother was a saint, like
all of our mothers are. My biological mother. I got
a chance to meet her, and I won't say nothing
bad about her, but I love her and I forgive her.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
You have met her.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Yeah. She was on the Lower East Side Manhattan. And
my mom, who raised me and adopted me, she was
like a civil servant. She was always helping the poor.
We was poor, but she would still give to the homeless.
Neighbors would come over and one of our sugar or flour.
(24:50):
My mother would get whatever we had. And I was
always like, I was always curious, but always wondering, like
why why were giving and giving? My mother would always
tell me, you know, giving God will return it back tenfold.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
I believe that one thousand.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, And unfortunately, when I was ten she passed away.
So on that note, giving was something that was already embedded,
embedded in me. So when I came of age and
I was going to college and excuse me, high school,
I would it's gonna sound funny, But I lived in Brentwell,
(25:30):
Nolland at this time, and my friends would say, we're
gonna sneak out of our houses and go to New
York City to dance house music in the nightclubs. So
here I was, like fifteen, sixteen years old, sneaking out
of the window to take out take the long Railroad
into New York City. Because the Sound Factory, the Red Zone,
(25:51):
the tunnel, the underground, all those clubs were, you know
in the in the twenties and thirties by the West
Side Highway, that's right. And because I used to feed
the homeless and be part of my church. In the
soup kitchen, I would tell the supermarket that I worked at,
let me buy a hundred slices of cheese, and then
(26:12):
I would go to the to the to the Dunkin Donuts,
and I've made a relationship with one of the workers
that listen, we can't give you old food, but what
we can do is tell you when we're gonna throw
it out in the back. We talk all of our
donuts and bagels at eleven o'clock in the hefty bag.
So the day before I was going out to the nightclub.
(26:33):
I would go in the garbage jumpster take out all
these bagels and croissants, and so then the next day
would come, I'd have the cheese and the refrigerator, and
because I worked at the supermarket, I would get like
a hundred bags, two hundred bags. I take all the
products that they were going to get rid of the
next day, apples, oranges, And on the train, I literally
(26:54):
made my friends make sandwiches. So here we were making
sandwiches on the train. Some of my friends like, I
can't believe this. We're going to a nightclub and we're
gonna smell like apples and now. And by the time
we got the station, the time we got the penstation
from Brentwood, we had made one hundred eggs of food.
So throughout Penstation I would just be giving the sandwiches
(27:16):
away with my friends and I'm like, don't you feel good?
And I'm like, no, I don't want to ever come
out dancing with you ever again.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
But they did it. Yeah, So Johnny, this was you
sneaking out. Yes, this is part of your sneak out.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
I couldn't think about it. It was crazy because here we
were fifteen fourteen years old, sneaking into nightclubs that you
had to be eighteen. You would give the bodyguard like
a fight dollar bill or whatever the inkleman was at
the time. You know, okay, I saw you. You can
go inside.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
And that's not sneaking out from like Brooklyn, like Brentwood
is out there. He was sneaking out of your house
in Brentwood to go all that's like an hour and
a half home around.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Four or five in the morning at the last train
that would take us to run Conker the Lake and
next you know, Johnny get ready to school. I'm like, yeah,
I had.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Listen, listen those I had to. I'm dating myself. But
New York City at that time, the clubbing in New
York City at that time was amazing, amazing, Like it
was fun times, fun, fun times. And I know I'm
speaking to a photographer, but it wasn't about the camera.
(28:37):
It was about dancing and sweating your behind off and
having a good time. Stop yeah, yes, yeah, and dancing
while you're drinking and like have your drink, but it
was really like for hydration and literally dancing for seven
(28:57):
eight hours straight and then and you go have breakfast
at a diner somewhere in the city. Yeah, and then
you go home to every wherever you lived. Wow, what
a time, What a time you've been. And I'm not
going to ask you the question about how you decided
to become a photographer. And here's the reason why, because
(29:21):
you've told that story before and I want to hear
some new things from you. So for those of you
who are listening, if you want to hear the incredible
story of how Johnny noonez decided to become a photographer
and his encounter with God in doing that, I highly
(29:42):
recommend that you find it and listen to it so
we can get some extra stuff in here.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Oh no, total right. That was from set Freeze podcast.
Sef free is a curator of art. You have to
meet him. I'm sure you may have met him before.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Amazing art space in Brooklyn, and as you could see,
he's you and him got to me. I can't wait.
I can't wait to introduce you both. But a funny story.
Funny story, it's not funny. But I was just telling
a friend the other day that how I became one
of Michael Jordan's photographers was I was on twenty Third
(30:23):
Street and Park Avenue, and I literally I was dating
my wife at the time, new girlfriend, and I had
very little money as a photographer. And I called one
of my clients that owed me money, and as you know,
probably l that when you have your own business, you
kind of get paid and they pay you. If they
(30:43):
can try to not pay you, they'll try. If they
try to, they can also try to make you wait
a long time to pay you the worst. So I
was waiting on a thousand dollars, I think, and I
called the person like, hey, how's it going so and
so they're like, hey, what's going on? How you doing?
I'm like, I'm fine, but I'm really calling you about
the check. Can I come pick it up? Are you
(31:03):
gonna mail it to me? Well, I'm not here right now.
I'm actually out of the country. I return next week.
It was one of those like funky messages, and I
was just like livid because all I had was like
twenty dollars on me, and I was like wondering, how
am I gonna pay for certain things? And I gotta
go take my girlfriend now, And all of a sudden,
(31:24):
a morbidly obese brother comes over to me with a
dirty shirt. Hold on it, big old gut, I said,
a big old gut, not physically, but just like, what
do you want man? He goes, I need some money,
I said, you want to move. In my mind, I'm like,
I have no money. I have a thousand dollars I
(31:46):
was depending on. I have twenty bucks in my pocket.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I got this woman I want to take out.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
I want to have. This is not a good night.
And I'm like, you know what, I said, in my mind,
I got paid love. I said, that's right, you know what.
Let me see. Let me give him one last chance
before I curse him out. I said, if I give
you this money, what are you going to do with it?
Because I'm thinking if he says anything about like I'm
gonna go smoke and weed, or if he says anything
(32:10):
about drugs, I'm gonna let him have it. He goes,
I really don't care about the money. I just want food.
I said, you just want food. Today's your lucky day.
Come with me. So we crossed out the street on
twenty third Street and we're walking towards Madison Avenue and
there was a subway sandwich spot on the left hand side.
I said, you cool. The sandwich. He's like, yes, he said,
(32:32):
come on, let's go. I opened up the door. We
went in and I immediately began to see people covering
their noses and people were like taking away from him,
and I like, you know, that's really cool that you
would treat someone like that. But you know, it is
what it is. I said, hey, aw, I made up
a name like what you want on a sandwich, you know,
(32:53):
Turkey Swiss with let us tomatoes. Man, all right, go
get some chips from over there, because I'm gonna make
your order right now. So I said, began to make
the sandwich and he got his chips. I said, you know,
I grabbed the sandwich and said, here, take this back
to work. Tell our boss that I'll see you in
twenty minutes. I'm just running late. All right, out, you
take care, bro He left, and I got to the register.
(33:14):
I said, how much is that sandwich? Like, you know,
eleven dollars whatever it was, And in my mind I
was arguing with myself, like we broke before, but now
we're even more broke. Johnny good idea to give away
the only money that you had. Now, what you're gonna do?
You know? So I'm over here in my mind, arguing
(33:38):
with myself out and I get to the door in
the phone rings. Just as I grabbed the door from
the subways to exit, the phone rang. I picked it up.
I said hello. They said, hello, is this Johnny Unais.
I'm like, yes, this is Johnny UNA's. You came under
a great, great recommendation and we want to know are
(33:58):
you available to graph for us tomorrow and the next day? Well,
two day job. I'm like two day job. I'm like yeah,
I can and go. Well, what is your half a
day rate? And what is your whole day rate? And
I'm like, my whole day rate? I said, you know what,
since you're a new friend of mine, I don't know.
(34:19):
Tell me what do you What do you think? He said, Well,
how's seven thousand dollars sound? I said seven? I said,
give me one second.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Hold on.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
I was like I was going crazy. I'm like, seven
thousand dollars. This is like nineteen ninety eight, nineteen. I'm like, uh,
you know, yes, that sounds cool. Because so we need
your routing number in your account number so we can
send you And why are you half the amount up front?
And when the job is done? Well, why are you
the other half, and I'm like, well, I don't have
(34:49):
my account, my router number of my account number on you.
Right now, I'm heading home so I can get it
for you this minute. You send the stat we will
why you have the money? So I was I was like, okay,
that's great. So I'm thinking, like, so that's like three
five hundred dollars. I said, so I guess some thirty
five hundred. She said, no, no, no, no, We're gonna say
(35:11):
you have the money. It's three events. I'm like, three
events because mister noon Is it'll be seven thousand dollars
per event, so it'll be a total twenty one thousand,
but we'll give you one half of front. I said, so,
who is the client if you don't mind me asking,
Michael Jordan it's his dinner and his private Jordan Brand
(35:31):
Classics event. I said, thank you very much. I wound
up for the next three years shooting his Michael Jordan
Brand Classics festival or event. And that is like an
example of like how I feel God is giving me opportunities,
(35:52):
not because I was cool, not because you know, I
gotta do things to show people who I am. I
feel when you do acts of kindness when where they're
not seen, God sees it and you will be blessed.
I'm a walking, living testimony that. And yeah, un till
(36:14):
this day. I work with Nike, and I work with
some of the big, the big people like Lary Miller
and Reggie Reggie Saunders. These are just amazing people at Nike.
That gave me an opportunity. But again I feel that
when I gave that guy that sandwich, that was actually
(36:35):
an angel. I don't homeless, yeah, but in my heart
I knew, well that was planted by God.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
You know, for those listening, there's a couple of things
that are coming up hearing the story. One is I too,
am a walking testimony to listening. There are times where
(37:04):
I will hear something and not the hearing and the
just like yes, do that. And I always know when
it's that confirmation that like when you obey that voice,
it always works out for good. And it's not always
(37:25):
about like the money on the end of it, like
it always for me. That is the cloud that moves
my steps from one place to another, from one situation
to another, from one person to another. So there's that,
you know, listening listening to the voice when you hear it,
(37:46):
when you sense it, no matter how crazy it may
seem when you're looking at the situation through the lens
of what people deem normal or what makes sense. The
second part of it is what happens when you continue
(38:07):
on your path. Because you were a photographer, you were
struggling in that moment, waiting, and the experience of being
an entrepreneur is challenging. It takes guts, it takes courage,
it takes risk, it takes patience, and for those folks
(38:29):
who are listening, the encouragement that it's going to work out,
do the thing that you feel led to do, because
sometimes it's tough, and it also has a way of
working out when you are on your path and doing
the right thing. You know, so thank you for sharing
(38:52):
that story.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Thank you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
You know, it just reminds me of so many times
where I was just I didn't know what was going on,
I didn't know how, and something would happen and I
would still and I'd have people like say, like, you're crazy,
Like what are you given to this person for? What
are you spending your time or whatever the thing is,
(39:16):
But what you know in your heart you know, in
your heart, thank you don't much, Johnny, You've been One
of the things about your reputation is that you never
(39:40):
post an unflattering photo. You know, never have ever been
pressured to break that rule.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
Many times, many times. I haven't been invited to dangerous
and I want to say dangerous, I've been invited to
crazy parties where you will see crazy things. Something in
my gut set don't go. Or or the minute I
walked in, I saw so and so doing this with
(40:08):
so and so, and I'm like, I didn't see that.
I didn't see that, And any other photographer would have
totally cashed out on that. But I said, you know
what you you know, you you eat what you kill
in life. But at the same time, you don't pooh
where you eat. And the minute you publicate that image
(40:30):
or an inquirer or one of them, you know, tabloid
type of publications, post that and it's your name. You
just you just shot yourself in the foot. You'll never
work in that part of town ever again. And I
always tell people, you know, be be kind to everybody,
(40:50):
from the receptionist to the executives. Be nice and be
kind because you never know who that receptionist is going
to be. You never know that executive might be on
top of tomorrow, he might be the custodian. So I always,
uh always humble myself to people so that you know,
you never know what life will be like tomorrow. But
(41:15):
you know, blessings to the people that do love being
nice to people, because when that person that's working in
the front desk whinds up becoming an executive at another
company and they remember you, Johnny, I need you to
cover my event? How much your rate? Oh man? Yo
pay him three? Three events in advance Like now, that
doesn't really happen all the time, But my point is
(41:36):
that you have to you definitely, in our industry, you
have to be respectful and mindful of all the people. Now,
to answer the question, I've always been given that temptation
(41:56):
to release images by people. Why don't you let that
pitch and goal? You know? And I'm like, no, because
it's going to damage this person's career. You could also
damage my career. And more than anything, my mom used
to say, if you ain't got nothing nice to say,
don't see nothing, you know, And I still to this day,
(42:17):
I don't want to be part of the problem. I
want to be part of the solution, you know, and
I feel love is real if you if you if
you guard it, if you protect it, love can help.
But if you love harm and greed and evil, you know,
(42:38):
it corrupts, it's chaos, and you be part of that.
Or you could choose not to be part of You
can choose love, you know, it's the choice.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
It's the choice. I think sometimes people act like the
norm is cut throat, take what you can get, don't
you know, protect yourself at all costs. And I live
a different reality, and I know you do as well,
and I know many people who do. And I also
(43:11):
have witnessed and know through my own experience that when
you live by the principles of love, when you live
by the principles of God, gives you know. I'm okay,
I can have this experience with someone here and it's
going to come back somewhere else. I don't have to
hold it to that person. You wind up attracting that,
(43:37):
you know, And that to me is what you reap
what you sew is I mean so often people see
that scripture as from the negative. You reap what they got,
what they deserve. You reap what you sell. Conversely, we
reap what we sew, meaning where you put your energy
is what's going to grow in your life. And so
(43:58):
if you put your energy into kindness and into generosity
and into empathy and compassion, I am a living, living
witness and testament to how that creates that energy within
you but also around you. I'm gonna ask you a
(44:19):
couple as we're getting short on time, I'm gonna ask
you a couple of like quick round questions. Sure you
got a minute for him?
Speaker 1 (44:28):
Of course? Of course you have been.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Documenting hip hop for decades. When you scroll through the
photos that you've taken, which ones still surprise you?
Speaker 1 (44:39):
And why jay Z and Nas toasting on jay Z's
shirt and said Notorious Big. I call that the hip
hop Trinity shot because jay Z calls himself Hovah Jehovah,
and then Nas has tattooed on his belly Godson. And
then because Diggy was and in the shot, but the shirt
(45:02):
said notorious BRG. That's the spirit. So you have the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. So that's my hip
hop Trinity shot. It actually is in the living room
of DJ Calim. You know. It also is I'm going
to have an exhibit in December in Miami. During Arbasm,
(45:22):
I might make one of those prints and then another one.
Although you've seen I won't say the person was an imposter.
But back when I started, several photographers would take their camera,
not necessarily from our culture, but they were there was
their job to be the photographer, even if they didn't
(45:44):
like the music or the culture. So what they would
do is this, and they still do it to this day.
They'll wait for me, someone that might know the artists
and might know the music and the culture, and they'll
just stand there like this. In a minute, I get
mob d Nahs, Royal flush look over here, and now
(46:04):
I got them. I went all through the work to
get them together. The minute I take my camera out,
but start shooting right away, and then the artists do
this and then I go, oh no, look over here,
look over here, And by that time they're like, yo's
what's going on and they start talking and you just
sold my shot. You just ruined the moment, and they
(46:26):
they just walk away.
Speaker 2 (46:28):
Like yeah because they got their Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And so there's a famous picture of camera with a
pink cell phone and a pink fur that was my shot.
But I was shooting with film and this individual was
shooting with digital and she would always do this some
choice per camera and I would say, could you mean
your favor stop doing that. I don't do that to you,
Please don't do that to me. And she was, you know,
(46:51):
she would like complain in French that it's whatever, like
I don't really care. And so when I had the
role of film, I lived in Washington Heights at this point,
and my upstairs neighbor had a flood. All that water
trickled from the roof, I mean from the floor through
my roof and destroyed almost a quarter of my negatives.
(47:14):
When I got home, all my negative and when I
looked it was the Camon negatives, it was the four
y six is all destroyed. It was stuck together, and
I was just like, wow, I couldn't believe it. But
it wasn't important at the time. Next thing, that image
goes viral, you know, it goes viral. It's very it's
very people make Halloween costumes of with a pink fur coat,
(47:39):
pink cell phone, Motorola, baby fat foam, and lonsoy short. Recently,
I was archiving, looking through some old photos and through
the grace of God there it was one of the
original points of him on the phone. I'm like, yay, No,
I have no exhibit. Yeah, so, but those are some
(47:59):
great photo was Barack and shall Obama. Other great images
that I cherish is my son and daughter, Jeremiah and
Joy when they were babies.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
So I must have at least I know you have
amazing photos of those two.
Speaker 1 (48:18):
Yeah. My wife couldn't be any more happy. And those
are the greatest photos of my life.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
How old are your kids?
Speaker 1 (48:27):
My son Jeremiah, he is fifteen and he's presently at
Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts. And my daughter is thirteen.
She was a bank street here.
Speaker 2 (48:39):
Oh nice, nice, wow, look at you look at your
family that those are great ages. My kids have grown
as heckal yeah, you baby, I am a baby. I
am a baby. I had them before I got here,
that's right, you know, No, I have My son is
(49:03):
forty three and my daughter's thirty two.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
What, yes, you look like you're forty three maybe younger.
I was thinking, wow.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
Yeah, And I have two great kids. I have an
eight I have an eight year old granddaughter and an
eighteen year old grandson. And with all the things, the best,
the best, the best is us, you know, that's the
best as a family. Do you consider yourself a historian
(49:34):
or a photographer?
Speaker 1 (49:35):
I would like to say both, you know, and I'm
When I was doing it in the beginning, it was
because I believe God told me to do it and
I trusted. I still trust in him, and as a
result it later on, as I started to notice, like
(49:57):
I've got millions of photos of our culture, whether it's
from hip hop or Latin or sports or things that
affected the LGBQ community, I just felt I documented by
supporting all these directions of culture in this American society.
(50:19):
And as a result, now it went from photography to
photo journalism to being a historian, keeper keeper of the flame.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
You know you are a keeper of the flame, Johnny,
you are a keeper of the flame of this culture.
Speaker 1 (50:34):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (50:35):
Yeah, And I think thank you, And I think what's
so beautiful about that is that, just like the story
you were telling about setting up the shot and then
having other people take the shot that you set up,
you're telling the story of our culture in a way
that is filled with love and appreciation for the beauty
(50:58):
of our culture. You know, a few weeks ago. It
could have been a few months ago, because honestly, this
year has been a whirlwind for me. I saw and
you mentioned that you have an exhibition coming up, so
very excited about that. I'd love to hear more about
that again. Yes, yes, but I saw on the internets
(51:22):
that Swiss Beats was talking about supporting artists and supporting
photographers and the importance of that. And first of all,
I second that thank you. There is a work that
you have been doing for over two decades. Through work,
(51:46):
but also the result and consequence of that is that
you are documenting our history through beautiful eyes of love,
and we get to as culture, as a society, as
an American society, we get to enjoy the fact that
you and others like you have taken the time to
(52:09):
as artists to document history. You're doing it, my brother, Jean,
Michelle Bosquia did it, artists, other photographers, people in fashion
like our history is being documented, and I first of
all want to thank you for that, and secondly, I
(52:32):
for those who can encourage us to invest into the
art that we get to enjoy. It's not just about
getting being able to see a real on you know,
one of the social media platforms. You know, this is
someone's art. And so I think that no matter where
(52:56):
we are, no matter how much you have in your
checkbook from one day to the next, because it flips
you know, over life value art value art. It's the
thing that helps us to be sane. It's the thing
that helps us to laugh and remember, you know, different
(53:19):
times in history and we can't count on other people
to tell us when and how and who we are.
We get to do that ourselves, and let's support each
other in doing that. You know, will you tell us
about your exhibition at our basle?
Speaker 1 (53:38):
Yeah, as of right now, it may be collaborating with
Brooklyn shop House, which they're opening the grand opening December
two in Miami. So as as of right now, it's
going to be in that proximity. I'll get the information.
I'll definitely share it with you when I when I
(54:00):
I could in But I definitely also for the record,
would love to partner up with you again and do
something amazing in twenty twenty six. Maybe we could do it.
Speaker 2 (54:14):
I'm building my twenty twenty six calendar right now. That'd
be amazing. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I understand that you're
planning a book. Is that true or is that a armor?
Speaker 1 (54:27):
I'm in search of the right public publisher. So if
any feelers are out there, let us know. And currently
people have come with allful opportunities, but I don't know
how to explain it. I guess when the right time comes,
(54:47):
it'll come. You'll know.
Speaker 2 (54:49):
Yeah, what do you hope? So we talked about you
know that you are a historian absorts historian. I think
as much as you are a photographer. What would you
hope that people see what the future generation see when
they have the opportunity to encounter Johnny noon AZ's work.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
That I was able to capture an emotion suspended time,
That I was able to transplant the individual from where
they were into the actual frame as a witness seeing
what I saw and being the judge of that moment
(55:37):
seeing what I captured. And also so that we don't
get rock and rolled again, no other culture or race
could today. This came from them, you know, this is
this is like the Hebrews of Africa. There. We don't
(55:57):
start somewhere else in the middle. We don't start with
a book midway in the chapter of the book. We
start at the beginning, at the beginning, hip hop like
rock and roll, bebop, jazz, country, that's right, country music,
all black, you know. So that's what I want people
to see, that this is something that we did.
Speaker 2 (56:18):
Wow. My last question for you, mister nas, how can
we support you?
Speaker 1 (56:27):
You know, if there's any opportunities to exhibit my work
in any galleries overseas, especially because I feel like I'm
a big fish in a small pond. I'd love to
explore and collaborate with other artists and other gallery exhibits.
And my email is Johnny Nona's photo at gmail. My
(56:51):
Instagram is Johnny Noonaz j O H and n Y
Nunez is like New York City and U n e z.
Speaker 2 (56:59):
Okay, all right, Johnny. Every time I talk to you,
I learn something, I feel something, thank you, I feel inspiration, encouragement,
and I feel the joy of being connected to another
(57:20):
child of God. Who gets it, who gets it, who
gets it? That it's love who gets it. So I
cannot tell you enough. Thank you, Thank you for this conversation,
thank you for your time. Thank you for what you're
doing for the culture, what you're doing for society through
(57:44):
your cameras, but also through your contribution and your presence,
your incredible presence in this world. Thank you so much. Really,
I love you too. I love you too.
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