CULTURE

Intimate Photos of Kanye West, Young Thug, Gucci Mane, and More in Gunner Stahl’s New Zine

Written by Emilia Petrarca
Photographs by Gunner Stahl

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“Life really is becoming boring,” said the 24-year-old photographer, Gunner Stahl of his new zine, Life Is Boring, which drops on Valentine’s Day and features photos of Kanye West actually smiling, Young Thug’s first trip to Los Angeles, and Gucci Mane at home just weeks after being released from prison. We would call that anything but boring. But Stahl, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia and has made a name for himself with his uncanny ability to get up close and personal with hip hop’s biggest stars, is ready for something new. “I love what I do, but I really want to get into fashion photography,” he said. “But no one takes me serious when I say that.” Maybe it’s time for fashion to listen up.

1
Kendrick Lamar
Gunner Stahl

“Kendrick put on a secret show at Art Basel this year. The venue only held around 100 people. It was a more intimate performance for him.” – Gunner Stahl

2
Metro Boomin’
Gunner Stahl

“Right before Metro went on stage in Canada I realized all I had was black and white film left. His diamonds look so crazy combined with flash and 100 ISO film.” – Gunner Stahl

3
Lil Uzi Vert
Gunner Stahl

“Lil Uzi Vert invited me to his video shoot for his song ‘Money Longer.’ I had no idea what the concept for the video was. When I got there, it was at a drag racing track an hour outside of Atlanta.” – Gunner Stahl

4
Young Thug
Gunner Stahl

“This was the first day Thug had gotten to see Gucci Mane when he got out of jail. They were filming their video to ‘Guwop’s Home’ at Gucci’s house.” – Gunner Stahl

5
21 Savage
Gunner Stahl

“21 has the most interesting face tattoos by far. Still surprised he let me get that close to him with a camera.” – Gunner Stahl

6
A$AP Rocky
Gunner Stahl

“I saw Rocky at Camp Flog Gnaw and the first thing he said to me was: “We gotta take some fire tonight brozay.” This is the only picture that we took, but it came out perfect.” – Gunner Stahl

7
Gucci Mane
Gunner Stahl

“Gucci Mane had just gotten out of federal prison and The FADER asked me to shoot him at home for 2 days. This was my favorite photoshoot of 2016.” – Gunner Stahl

8
Childish Gambino
Gunner Stahl

“Childish Gambino was always one of the people I wanted to shoot. I finally got the chance to do so at his premier for his show Atlanta.” – Gunner Stahl

9
Sarah Snyder
Gunner Stahl

“Sarah and I hung out in London over the summer. It was her idea to go to the bridge.” – Gunner Stahl

10
Kanye West, Travis Scott, and Kacy Hill
Gunner Stahl

“I saw Kanye at Travis Scott’s premiere for his video ‘90210.’ He smiles a lot, actually.” – Gunner Stahl

11
Desiigner
Gunner Stahl

“I walked outside of my hotel in LA and Desiigner was outside playing music. It was his first time ever being in LA. We took a bunch of pictures in about five minutes time.” – Gunner Stahl

12
A$AP Rocky and Friends
Gunner Stahl