The Rapper Equivalents of Famous Artists

What if hip-hop's biggest stars were famous visual artists?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Though rap can be incredibly descriptive, it doesn’t always have a lot in common aesthetically with the visual arts. Then again, rappers and visual artists tend to share many similarities—in practice, in lifestyle, in mass appeal. Sure, Kanye’s all on about Le Corbusier of late, but we can imagine many rappers as some of the artists we know and love. Connect the dots between hip-hop and the art world with The Rapper Equivalents of Favorite Artists.

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Ol' Dirty Bastard is Jackson Pollock

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Jay Z is Shepard Fairey

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Nas is Jeff Koons

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Dr. Dre is Andy Warhol

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Nicki Minaj is Cindy Sherman

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Danny Brown is Georgia O'Keeffe

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Lil B is Yoko Ono

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Lil B Is Yoko Ono

Though Lil B's timeline as a rapper is a bit more accelerated than Yoko Ono's as an artist, thanks to information technologies, the parallels in their art and message are too much to ignore. Two strong personalities in themselves, they are associated also with groups (The Beatles and The Pack). But their most similar characteristic is their desire to empower their audiences. Both Ono and B use their platforms to deliver messages of inspiration. Often, they do so on Twitter. Here's one from Lil B: "I hope well for all the children's around the worlds mental health and safety i love you." That's basically the equivalent of Yoko's "We know that our thinking and our actions, no matter how small they are, affect the whole world." Both of those are tweets. Throw in that not everyone "gets" or accepts the work of these enigmas, and the match is complete.

Kool Keith is Salvador Dali

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Swizz Beatz is Julian Schnabel

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