6 months ago
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Dave Courtney shared how he was the inspiration for the artwork on Jay-Z's debut album The Blueprint.
In a clip on TikTok, Courtney recounted how a picture was taken of him giving a speech at the Oxford Union, which featured in The Firm, which documents the lives of gangsters in south London.
The Blueprint cover art sees Jay-Z smoking a cigar while sat on a table in front of people who have been interpreted as his fellow crew members or his competitors in rap music.
Speaking about how the New York rapper's iconic artwork came to be, Courtney said: 'The cover of his first album [The] Blueprint is my photo. They took a picture of me doing a speech at the Oxford Union'.
Courtney continued: 'It was an aerial shot and he thought that was really funny, it was in a book called The Firm which went big in America and he thought that was really funny: a convicted felon speaking, becoming 'The Don' at the Oxford Union teaching future Parliament how to behave.
In a clip on TikTok, Courtney recounted how a picture was taken of him giving a speech at the Oxford Union, which featured in The Firm, which documents the lives of gangsters in South London
The Blueprint cover art sees Jay-Z smoking a cigar while sat on a table in front of people who have been interpreted as his fellow crew members or his competitors in rap music
'He thought that was really funny so he did a replica of the same photograph and put himself there and called it Blueprint'.
Notorious for his criminal activity in London, Courtney was found dead at his home in Plumstead, south London, on Sunday evening, with a gunshot wound to his face.
Courtney's death at the age of 64 came after the lifelong Charlton Athletic fan spent a 'cool day' with a 'full works' three course meal at The Valley as The Addicks beat Reading 4-0 in League One the previous day.
The hardman - who was the inspiration for Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' Big Chris - was found in his famous Camelot Castle abode yesterday.
Sadly, he had been secretly battling cancer and was suffering heavily because of the strain placed on his body by the disease alongside the arthritis he had developed.
His family said in a statement this morning: 'On October 22 Dave made the decision to 'stop the ride'.
'He had lived an incredible, colourful rock n roll life which he touched the hearts of so many.
'The physical pain of living the lifestyle he chose, especially due to the pain of both cancer and arthritis in his later years, became too much.
'So, rather than be a burden to his family and friends, he chose to 'stop the ride' and take his way out.
'In his own immortal words, 'stop the ride, I want to get off'.'
