Hip-hop and the art world have found an unlikely paring. Drake has been tabbed by major New York Auction house Sotheby's to curate the soundtrack to their upcoming Black Americans sale. The sale will include roughly 20 works from a list of artists that includes Rashid Johnson, Nick Cave, Glenn Ligon, Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Wangechi Mutu.
Drake's selections will be used to preview the pieces of art at designated listening stations in the Sotheby's gallery. Drake, who is not getting paid for this gig according to the New York Times, was chosen because he is what the auction house calls one of today's "foremost cultural tastemakers."
The move to tab Drake for this event, which will occur from April 28 to June 12 in the Sotheby's New York headquarters, is a bit unconventional given that Drake does not have a long history with art, nor is he known as a collector. However, a Drake spokeswoman tells the NY Times that the "Legend" rapper "draws a lot of inspiration from visual artists."
#Music and #Art merge this spring when Sotheby's partners with @Drake for our #S2 Gallery selling exhibition in NYC pic.twitter.com/cM9iUZUNJ7
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 20, 2015
The idea for the collaboration came through a personal connection within the Sotheby's contemporary art department.
Sotheby's hopes that the move will help boost private sales. They hope that this collaboration will help spur sales for the exhibit, which is an alternative source of revenue for auction houses using direct sales to customers instead of waiting for auctions.
This is the first venture for Drake into the art collection world, unlike some of his contemporaries like Jay Z and Kanye West, who are known collectors. With his growing status and wealth, despite the Cash Money, Young Money situation, this could be Drake's formal introduction into the luxurious and prestigious art world.
