PHOTOS: T.I., artist Fahamu Pecou & curator Michael Rooks Opens Up About Hip Hop & Art Ms. Bels Thursday, March 6, 2014 Studio Xclusive, The Connect, The Receipt, The Vault On Thursday, Feb. 27th, Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou welcomed a sold out (and diverse) crowd to the first ‘InterSessions: Art x Hip Hop Dialogue‘ event held at the High Museum of Arts. The sit-down conversation about the ways in which hip-hop and art intertwines included Atlanta rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr and High Museum’s curator, Michael Rooks. The ArtxHip Hop series kick-off was created to coincide with Art Papers Magazine’s “Art x Hip Hop” issue, in which Pecou was its guest editor. The candid conversation between the three gentlemen began with the acknowledgement of arts close relationship with hip hop. Since hip hop’s inception, from graffiti to fashion, art has had an undeniable impact on the culture. Pecou navigated the evening by asking his guests questions regarding their entry into their perspective industries, how art transcends into their world, the future of artxhiphop and society’s acceptance, and other insightful things. Both Pecou and T.I. shared a similar story on how they both made the decision to pursue art and rap as a career. T.I. explained how it was LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad” that intrigued him enough to want to learn to rap. Pecou, on the other hand, mentioned Goodie Mob’s first album Soul Food as his inspiration to want to learn more about hip hop. Their love of the music is what both pinpointed as the common factor for which they owe their appreciation. Michael Rooks, the official curator for the museum, understands too the relation of both worlds. The audience members learned more about his position within ArtxHipHop. And that is, the next piece of the puzzle that holds the two together. Rooks job is to manage and maintain the integrity and authenticity of historical artifacts. Throughout the evening, Pecou, T.I., and Rooks opened the minds of most of the audience members who may not have known anything about their lives and careers. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to see the three worlds collide, understand one another, and accept each of their individual existences. Here are a few photos from the ArtxHipHop event: To find out when is the next ArtxHipHop event, follow the series on Instagram @ArtxHipHop!
