While Drake wasn’t listed in our recent post on the top 10 Hollywood art collectors (although, aside from his amazing role in Degrassi, we’re not sure the rapper actually counts as “Hollywood” anyway), it seems he definitely has ties to the art world. The Grammy-winning rapper’s latest collaboration is in New York with Sotheby's S|2 gallery for an exhibition rather than an album. Running through June, I Like It Like This marries hip hop with works from contemporary black American artists.
Drake (Drizzy, Champagne Papi, etcetera) played his part by curating the music selection for the exhibition, choosing songs to specifically highlight each of the featured paintings or sculptures. The selected songs are played through Beats by Dre headphones via sound stations throughout the space. The idea is that you walk up to a painting, throw on the headphones and admire the work while jamming out—in hopes of deepening your appreciation of both mediums.
Not surprisingly, Drake’s own “Wu Tang Forever” is one of the 17 selected songs. He also chose hits from artists Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Young Thug, PARTYNEXTDOOR and The Weeknd, along with old school artists Shuggie Oats and Robert Johnson, plus non-hip hop artists like Jamie xx and Popcaan, and a slew of other musicians.
The 56 works of art, on the other hand, are just as—if not more—impressive. Nick Cave, Basquiat, David Hammons, and Romare Bearden are just a few of the artists represented in the collection.
Whether you walk out of the gallery with a piece of art or not is up to you, at the very least though, you might end up with some new jams to add to your playlist. The exhibition runs until June 12.
