Swizz Beatz Is Working On A Project With Painter Kehinde Wiley

Art lover Swizz Beatz has become the latest muse of artist Kehinde Wiley. The painter best known for providing an urban adaptation to some of the most iconic portraits has enrolled the help of the producer and Harvard student for a portrait to in tribute to hip-hop.

"It's about celebrating contemporary royals, the sense of nobility that exists in all of us"  Wiley told Billboard. "This is an opportunity for me to pay homage to hip-hop. It transformed the way the world sees itself, the way that young people communicate about their dreams, their freedom, their hopes. There are thought leaders at its vanguard… the gatekeepers…and Kasseem (Swizz Beatz) is one of them."

The limited edition print will be a mixture of photography and digital art that unveiled June 27 and auctioned for charity in December at Art Basel.

On working with the famed fellow artist Swizz said, "I was like, 'This guy is painting guys that look like they're from my hood, but it was still being taken seriously.' It wasn't labeled street art; it was fine art. He took the pain from the streets and told a beautiful story with it."

[via Billboard]