Amar Stewart began painting Hip Hop inspired work two years ago, creating portraiture using oils. Approximately 18 months later, Stewart says he and his wife visited The Met in London where he was drawn to Dutch masters of the 17th century. His wife nudged him. “You should do this,” she advised.
“It all happened from there,” Stewart recalls, in an interview with HipHopDX. “I have her thank for this.”
Stewart’s work in a series called “Hip Hop Royalty” blends Rap with 17th century art and he’s got plenty of emcees to pull inspiration from. He says he’s been inspired by several acts, including Black Moon, The Notorious B.I.G. and J Dilla. Of course, he also pulls inspiration from artists like Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Goya, among others. All of this helps Stewart have a vision for his work with “Hip Hop Royalty.”
“My vision is to touch on what I think is modern day royalty,” he says, “placing the greats, emcees and producers, in The Golden Age.”
That vision is far from complete.
“If I haven’t painted your favorite icon, don’t worry,” he says. “This is just the start.”
Stewart, who has a solo show coming up in San Francisco, California at Public Barber Gallery August 7, says he plans on doing greater work moving forward.
“After that I’m going to continue this concept, but work on larger scale pieces,” he says. “I’ve been focusing more on one subject, but it’s time to build on this and create more in-depth work with a story. I’m excited to see where it goes. I have also started releasing some merch on my online store. I want to expand on this too.”
Some of Stewart’s work is below.
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thats some gangsta shit
These are many years old. HHDX years behind 9Gag and imgur?
No Lil Wayne?
No Young Thug?
No Drake?
No Future?
No 2 Chainz?
No Rick Ross?
WTF? I HATE THESE OLD ASS NIGGAS FOR REAL
Young Thug is Garbage.
All the rappers u named beside 2 are garbage with no grammys and will never sell a million records so sit your 15 year old ass down
You must be 7-13 because the cats you like are all terrible and destroy the culture not help it. In 20 yrs none of the cats above will be mentioned trust me.
He did say Golden Era
fuck you haters. you all go go burn in hell. drake runs rap and clearly his impact will have an effect on the masses in the upcoming years. drake has his own day in houston and he’s not even from there. drake is a sports ambassador for a basketball team. drake voiced a character for the movie ice age. drake was/is on the forbes list at least twice. drake starred in a critically acclaimed teen drama. drake is currently #6 on the billboard singles’ charts, so there.
My client Rick Ross has also had his share of accomplishments as well as run ins with the law. clearly he is a misunderstood genius with a lot of potential and talent which is overlooked by the fact that he is an artist in the truest sense of the word. And as his manager, I will see to it that said potential become unlocked and released for the world to see on his next album.
No you either, Just real Hip Hop Cats
perfect choice for Jay Z’s devil worshipping ass
That Jay-Z Painting is hilarious.
How come Hov and Shakurspeare both get a skull?
That’s the real question
No NaS?
GAY FUCK THIS ARTIST AND THIS SITE.
Damn those are hillarious, not in a good way.
Exactly
Them shits are corny as hell
I think the biggie and pac ones look dope. The others just look comedic.
no 50 fuck this nigga who made them
They should blend Drake over Snoopy.
Flattering but concept Straight Rip Off from the original ‘Shakurspeare’ oil painting created by Tupac’s high school friend and Born Busy rap partner Darrin Keith Bastfield and first put on the internet in 2002. Google it! – Darrin Keith Bastfield