Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

It’s a growing trend for rappers to be recreated as cartoon characters but for Cecilia Azcarate and Ferdinando Verderi, the two New York art directors decided to take things a bit further.

Their Tumblr page B4XVI (as in before the 16th century) aligns the gaudy likenesses of well-known rappers of the day and mirrors their images with drawings from the earlier Renaissance periods and ancient sculptures.

Via Hypebeast:

Comparing contemporary hip-hop stars with historic art from centuries past, New York-based art directors Cecilia Azcarate and Ferdinando Verderi continue to flood their Tumblr page B4XVI with humorous compositions. Describing their ongoing efforts as “highlighting an invisible conversation between hip-hop and art before the 16th century,” Kanye West is positioned alongside Renaissance paintings while Young Thug sits next to Inca-like sculptures. The two started the project after a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and realized the resemblance in dress sense throughout the centuries –from primordial gods to royalties and rap stars.

It takes a real level of genius and historic expertise to pull this off so big kudos to Azcarte and Ferdinando.

Hit the gallery to see all the archaic a-alikes they’ve drummed up thus far.

Photo: Tumblr/B4XVI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16Next page »