In their first cover shoot together, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz chose to pay homage to The Black Panther Party, recreating a photo of the late Eldridge Cleaver and ex-wife Kathleen Cleaver, taken by world-renowned photographer Gordon Parks.

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Keys rocked a full afro and red turtleneck while Swizzy donned the organization’s signature black leather beret and turtleneck.

The couple also spoke of their union for the accompanying Cultured Mag cover story, saying they simply refuse to fight with one another, even after seven years of marriage.

“We’ve been married seven years and we don’t fight, we don’t raise our voices,” Swizz said. “It’s all about communication.”


He went on, “Where I’m weak, she’s strong—and vice versa. We always talk about how we don’t own each other. She owns herself, I own myself, but we come together and have this amazing family. We established that early, both coming out of long relationships. We knew what had worked in our past relationships and what hadn’t. We came to the table a little knowledgeable for this round.”

Keys admitted that it can be difficult to communicate properly when you’re only listening to respond, something she’s slowly been working on.

“It’s a bit of a challenge sometimes to figure out how to be patient enough to listen and not be so quick to shut down or get defensive, but to pay attention.”

Check out the full piece at Cultured Mag.