Jay Z’s ‘Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film’ Makes Its Debut
Jay Z’s film about his six-hour performance of “Picasso Baby” at a New York art gallery made its debut on HBO on Friday night. Directed by Mark Romanek, Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film distills the rapper’s marathon performance and interactions with guests including Marina Abramovic, Judd Apatow and Michael K. Williams into a nearly eleven-minute long study.
Just before the film’s 11 p.m. broadcast, Jay Z made an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, joining the HBO show’s panel to talk about art, hip-hop and politics.
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“The truth is, as far as hip-hop and arts, we were like cousins,” Jay Z said. “If you think about those days when Fab Five Freddy was with Madonna and Basquiat and everything. We all went to those clubs, that’s when hip-hop was more underground. The arts and hip-hop really partied together. But when art started becoming part of the gallery, it was this separation. But we pretty much came up together.”
The rapper later joined in a debate on community policing with former Rep. Barney Frank. “I don’t really want to scare America, but the real problem is there’s no middle class,” he said. “So the gap between the have and have-nots is getting wider and wider. It’s gonna be a problem that no amount of police can solve. Because once you have that sort of oppression and that gap is widening, it’s inevitable that something is going to happen.”