JAY-Z took the stage of the Louis Vuitton Foundation Auditorium in Paris on Friday for the opening of a new art exhibition entitled “Basquiat × Warhol. Painting Four Hands,” honoring the work and collaborations of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
While a live JAY-Z affair is fairly rare these days, the 53-year-old rapper came out in full force to support the event sponsored by the Louis Vuitton Foundation and Tiffany & Co. Videos from the evening show off Hov’s classy, suit-and-tie look, and reveal that the setlist included hits like “Ni**as in Paris,” “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” “Encore,” and more.
The appearance is no surprise for JAY-Z, considering that he’s been a longtime fan of both Warhol and Basquiat, with the latter especially impacting his style. In addition to posing with his own Basquiat in photos, he even has made references to the artists in his songs. “I got Warhols on my hall’s walls/ I got Basquiats in the lobby of my spot,” he rapped on 2008’s “Ain’t I.”
The exhibition itself opened its doors on April 5th, and runs until August 28th. This opening ceremony centered around Hov’s “celebratory” performance was announced last-minute earlier this week, and tickets sold for €140 ($155).
The event marked Hov’s first appearance since the 2023 Grammys, where he performed his show-stopping verse from DJ Khaled’s “God Did.” That same night, his wife Beyoncé broke the record for most Grammy wins of all time.
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