While Sotheby’s is now recognizing Hip Hop culture, the “crossover” of Hip Hop culture into the art world happened more than 40 years ago. They represent two different experiences of the world.” ![]() As late writer and Black Arts Movement activist Amiri Baraka said, “James Brown and Frank Sinatra are two different quantities in the universe. The most disdainful online comments underscore the persistent tension within American culture regarding what constitutes art and who gets to make the call. Sotheby’s also has a sales specialist with Hip Hop as part of her portfolio. To the chagrin of many White art lovers, the sale of “Biggie’s” crown loudly signaled that Sotheby’s acknowledges the multi-racial fans of Hip Hop culture as an important emerging market. “ I make a move like chess, then yell checkmate. The couple is said to have collected work from Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, David Hammons, Shepard Fairey, Richard Prince, Tim Noble, Sue Webster, George Condo, Laurie Simmons, Richard Prince, and Ed Ruscha. Shawn has also been photographed in front of a Derrick Adams piece at his Roc Nation office. Shawn’s fans know that he admires Jean-Michel Basquiat and it’s been reported that he acquired a painting by Basquiat called “Mecca” for $4.5 million in 2013. Despite the couple being notoriously tight- lipped, Forbes magazine estimates their art collection at 70 million dollars. The Carters are not new to auctions or to art collecting. In 2013, Carter won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Best Rap Song. It’s also telling that Blue Ivy’s photo references her father’s 2013 photograph of him drinking cognac from his Grammy Award trophy. Shawn Carter hasn’t confirmed that he acquired it but it seems apparent, especially given his close relationship with Wallace. In September 2020, Sotheby’s auctioned off Wallace’s plastic crown, which originally cost $6.00, for a reported $595.000. Wallace wore a gold crown in his iconic 1997 “King of New York” photograph shot by Barron Clairborne for Rap Pages magazine. Hip Hop fans immediately began to speculate that Blue Ivy’s crown was none other than the one worn by Brooklyn born rap artist, “The Notorious B.I.G” aka Christopher Wallace. In it, the nine-year-old is wearing a gold crown and sipping from her first Grammy Award trophy with a straw. ![]() Shortly after the 2021 Grammy Awards, a photograph of Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Beyonce Knowles-Carter’s daughter Blue Ivy began circulating online. We must begin to tell our young/There’s a world waiting for you/This is a quest that’s just begun-Nina Simone, from Young, Gifted and Black Painting image reproduced with permission. “Beyonce and Jay-Z” (2020) by Chuck Styles.
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