Summary
- 21 Savage and British-Nigerian artist Olaolu Slawn, better known as Slawn, celebrate the release of What Happened to the Streets? with an exhibition at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art
- Featuring original artworks by the rapper and visual artist, the show debuts artworks from the album, alongside 8 portraits of the project’s collaborators
21 Savage and Slawn are closing out the year on a high. To celebrate the release of Savage’s new album, What Happened to the Streets?, last night the rap star and artist took over Atlanta’s High Museum of Art for a special exhibition inspired by project.
The show featured 15 original artworks created by Slawn and Savage, anchored by the album’s cover art. Inspired by Kerry James Marshall’s 1980 work, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self,” the painting figures a similarly shadowy, hatted figure defined by striking eyes and a gap-toothed smile, while emblazoned with Slawn’s cartoonish spray treatment and Savage’s iconic knife tattoo.
Also debuting were eight portraits, each depicting a collaborator on the album: Drake, Latto, G Herbo, Lil Baby, Jawan Harris, GloRilla, Metro Boomin and Young Nudy. Rounding out the show were four additional paintings figured in the project’s 4-CD cover art series, a limited, 2,100-print run.
The museum moment comes fresh off the duo’s Art Basel rollout, which saw a 20-foot inflatable sculpture rove around Miami. The knife-pierced piece, inspired by the album artwork, made its way around the city’s biggest fairs and institutions, before making its final stop in Atlanta.
“I’ve done a number of album covers, this one felt really special to me, not just cause I’m a huge fan of 21 Savage, but the whole process of being able to create with freedom,” Slawn wrote in a recent Instagram post.
Following a cryptic, cinematic run of teasers and, now, an official museum show under his belt, it’s safe to say that What Happened to the Streets? marks both a musical and artistic milestone for the rapper.
Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast
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