Chance the Rapper says he is not surprised by his friend Thelonious Stokes’ success in the art world, but he didn’t see it coming.
Years before Stokes was a notable oil painter in Italy, he was like a kid brother to the Chicago emcee, going over to his house after school to slap-box, eat cheese sticks and learn how to do the “jerk” dance.
Today, Stokes, 28, is not only a Florence Academy of Art graduate and teacher. He has been a key figure in Chance’s forthcoming album and visual arts project, “Star Line Gallery.” The longtime friends presented a new painting, “The Last Stair,” from the venture and participated in a panel Thursday at Expo Chicago at Navy Pier.
“I’m hyped up because [Stokes] has really taken off in this space,” Chance told a packed room from the stage. “All of the things that I’ve done in the art world and all of the pieces that I’ve worked on for ‘Star Line Gallery’ have been either advised by Thelonious or, at the very least, influenced by what he does.”
The panel also featured Asma Naeem, co-curator of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s exhibition “The Culture: Hip-Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” which is now on view in Germany. Moderated by Vanity Fair writer Nate Freeman, the discussion explored hip-hop’s influence on contemporary art; lack of diversity in the art world; and parallels between musicians and visual artists.
Chance also surprised some audience members with free tickets to his concert Saturday night at the Ramova Theatre, which he co-owns. (The show is a benefit for Chicago organization SocialWorks, as well as a celebration for Chance’s 31st birthday.)
Positioned against a wall was “The Last Stair,” Stokes’ oil painting of the Christian nativity scene, featuring Black figures. The work shares its name with a song on Chance’s “Star Line Gallery” album, which will include 16 tracks and 16 corresponding art pieces.
“I’m reclaiming the space of the Judeo-Christian representation through my own identity,” said Stokes, who also mentioned he plans to start both a Black-owned fashion house and art academy in Italy. “I just feel so blessed that everybody is able to see this. Hopefully soon, the piece will be installed publicly somewhere and then begin to travel the world.”
An album release date has not been determined for “Star Line Gallery” — named after a shipping line by Marcus Garvey — but Chance has spent the last two years sharing some of the songs and works by the artists, which include Mia Lee and Nikko Washington, of Chicago, and Naïla Opiangah, of Gabon.
Chance said he was inspired to share works across the African diaspora after visiting Ghana, where he and Chicago rapper Vic Mensa also hosted the Black Star Line Festival last year.
“It came from meeting artists and finding out all these parallels between underground rappers trying to get some agency and clout — but also retain their independence — with a lot of young artists that were trying to figure out what galleries to be with or what collectors they could trust, or how to get their stuff to be seen,” Chance said.
Like Chance, Asma Naeem is also interested in the relationship between music and visual art. She said she wanted to convey hip-hop’s influence with “The Culture” exhibition, which features Chance’s red overalls created by Chicago designer Sheila Rashid.
“There is so much connective tissue between what’s happening in hip-hop and what’s happening in contemporary art,” Naeem said. “You cannot separate the two.”
Naeem said many contemporary artists draw on hip-hop themes, including social justice, Black joy and acknowledgment of ancestors.
“We are shattering stereotypes of what fine art should be, of what museum objects should be, of what the canon of artistic excellence should be,” she added. "[And] temporary exhibitions are a little bit of a cop-out for museums. We put up a temporary exhibition featuring Black artistry and Black artistic excellence, but do we actually bring those works into our collection? That is the change that needs to happen.”
Chance the Rapper has also seen the exclusion of Black artists firsthand when he, rapper Joey Bada$$ and others visited the Venice Biennale, one of the most prestigious art events in the world, in 2022.
“We found out quickly that they don’t want us in their parties,” Chance said. “We had that in common with a lot of the Black artists that were actually presenting at the festival. Some of the biggest Black artists couldn’t get a credential in a party.”
In response, Chance rented out a local pub and hosted a party for the Black artists, who were from multiple countries.
“I could cry just thinking about it,” he said. “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. ... It solidified to me the importance of this ‘Star Line’ project and the importance of collaboration and conversation with people that may not be from the same neighborhood that you’re from, but we have a connection.”
