By Rob Markman

When it comes to hip-hop album covers photographer Jonathan Mannion has some classics under his belt. From Jay-Z’s black and white Reasonable Doubt images to Eminem’s The Eminem Show, Mannion has worked with the best. In 1998 he and DMX drew fans in with a gory front cover-image for Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and now with the LP’s 15-year anniversary looming, JM sheds light on what it was like working with the Dog.

Though having X bathed in a pool of blood seemed to be a no-brainer, given the album’s unforgettable title, Mannion reveals that getting the spiritually-driven rap star to soak in the 60 gallons of blood that the photog poured into a bathtub was no easy feat. "He’s like, ‘You want me to get in that?’," Mannion recalled of X’s initial hesitation.

First the "Stop Being Greedy" MC complained that he had on new pants that he didn’t want to soil, but after Mannion dropped trou and offered up his own pants for X to wear, the rapper knew he had run out of excuses.

"We got in, I had chills the entire time we were shooting," he recalled. "He got in with his own pants realizing that he had 14 other pants on a rack that, in the other room that the stylist brought. And we had an incredible day and made amazing pictures."

Spotted: Rap Radar

Where does DMX's Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood album cover rank amongst your favorite rap images? Let us know in the comments!