Swizz Beatz is known for being much more than a producer. He's also an amazing painter and avid art collector. He recently expressed his desire to open up an art gallery, saying, "I feel like I found the new [Andy] Warhol in Japan, the new [Takashi] Murakami in Hong Kong—not to compare their work so much but as far as [their] thinking outside of the box. I found a couple of sick artists in Africa, in Mexico too."
Whether he opens this gallery anytime soon or not, he's got other plans in the arts up his sleeve. In a new interview with T Magazine, he discusses the possibility of exhibiting work at the Harlem Hospital, with the help of Museum of Contemporary Art director, Jeffrey Deitch. He also talks about becoming the global ambassador for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation and where he's at in his art collection (which includes work by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others).
At one point in the interview, he intimately reveals that Deitch once compared him to the late Basquiat. He says,
"Jeffrey Deitch once told me that I reminded him of Basquiat when he first came in, and I thought that was a huge statement because I’m like, Basquiat is on a different level! But once I digested it, I understood what Jeffrey meant: Basquiat had the same hunger and passion. He was young and out there and into music and in a place he probably wasn’t supposed to be. I took that as a great remark."
He even talks about his wife, Alicia Keys, at the end. Read the full interview here.
[via TMagazine]
