Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz Discuss Marriage, The Future & The Importance Of Owning Our Own Culture
For one of music's most well-known power couples, preserving culture through the arts has not only been an enjoyable hobby, but has become a charitable cause and way to give back to the art community that they love so much.
Founded by Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean and Alicia Keys-Dean, The Dean Collection is a contemporary, family art collection focused on the support of living artists. The collection features art from established and up-and-coming artists alike, and has also recently launched an initiative called 20 St(art)ups, which will provide 20 undiscovered artists $5,000 to create and throw their own art shows in which 100% of the proceeds will remain in the artists' pockets. Swizz detailed:
"The collection started not just because we're art lovers but also because there's not enough people of color collecting artists' of color. We don't own enough of our culture. So we want to lead the pack in owning our own culture and owning our own narrative instead of waiting for someone who's not part of the culture to tell our story for us."
It is no wonder that the couple is heavily inspired by the art they admire and collect. So much so that their recent cover shoot with Cultured Mag was directly inspired by Gordon Parks--the groundbreaking documentary photographer, filmmaker, musician, and activist.
The couple has been friends and co-chairs of the Gordon Parks Foundation for over six years now, and the cover shot is a direct interpretation of a Gordon Parks' portrait and photographed by Jamel Shabazz, a world-renowned documentary and fashion photographer in his own right. Parks' portrait of Kathleen Cleaver and her former husband the late Eldridge Cleaver was created in 1970, when both were leaders in the Black Panther Party.
There's no doubt you've heard the old saying, "You don't know where you are going until you know where you've been." And while some of us may have only known our history through the lens of the American educational system, we are increasingly presented with new opportunities to not only explore our pasts and examine its truths and facts, we also have the unprecedented ability to understand these moments through avenues outside of our textbooks.
While art often imitates life, through photography, moments are encapsulated and frozen in time. With the advent of social media, we have become an increasingly visual society where it's often difficult to sift through what's real and what's really photoshopped. That is one reason why Alicia and Swizz believe "that photography is the future."
"As we know, most of what people are seeing on social media is not the truth. What you're seeing in Jamel Shabazz is the truth. What you're seeing in Gordon Parks is the truth. What you're seeing in Deana Lawson is the truth. That's why their work is so spectacular to us. It embraces the truth. It embraces the roots. And there's beauty in that."
The pair, who have been married for over seven years, also discuss their lives outside of art, and why communication and the ability to remain calm in vulnerable moments are some of the keys to a successful life that includes public scrutiny, paparazzi, and chaotic work demands.
"We've been married seven years and we don't fight, we don't raise our voices," Swizz says. "It's all about communication."
As additional keys of success, Dean also credits going into the relationship knowing what worked and what didn't work for them in previous relationships, as well as having healthy and established expectations. This allows them to create the dynamic that keeps their relationship strong and makes them blended family goals.
"Where I'm weak, she's strong—and vice versa...We always talk about how we don't own each other. She owns herself, I own myself, but we come together and have this amazing family. We established that early, both coming out of long relationships. We knew what had worked in our past relationships and what hadn't. We came to the table a little knowledgeable for this round."
Alicia agrees by saying, "It's a bit of a challenge sometimes to figure out how to be patient enough to listen and not be so quick to shut down or get defensive, but to pay attention."
To read more of the cover story, head to Cultured and get some art history while you're there, too.
Featured image via Alicia Keys/Instagram
Michelle Schmitz is a writer and editor based in Washington, DC originally from Ft Lauderdale, FL. A self-described ambivert, you can find her figuring out ways to read more than her monthly limit of The New York Times, attending concerts, and being a badass, multi-tasking supermom. She also runs her own blog MichelleSasha.com. Keep up with her latest moves on IG: @michellesashawrites and Twitter: @michellesashas
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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ItGirl In Motion: Paige Shari Addison Shows Us Why She's The Hostess With The Mostess
Paige Shari Addison is the epitome of an ItGirl, which is why she is one of 100 ladies on xoNecole's inaugural ItGirl 100 list in partnership with Hyundai. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Paige started her journey as a host in high school by hosting parties. Since then, she has made a career in hosting, from parties to big-name events, and she launched Strictly RNB, a platform for new artists and R&B lovers. Paige reflects on her creative path in the limited video series "ItGirl in Motion."
“My first curated event at Criminal Records was incredible. It was all for up-and-coming artists,” she says. “I needed a platform for us as a collective to be able to give ourselves the platform instead of asking for it, instead of looking for it. I was like, I want to make sure I let people get this experience that I would give as a performer but enjoy the experience with them. It was a dream come true.”
The Atlanta native also has her own line of acai bowls called Soulfull Bowls. She started it during the pandemic after events and parties shut down. But it was her love for eating acai bowls and the reactions others had to them that made her want to make it her next business move. Being open to creating new ventures in the midst of uncertainty is a bold move and one of the reasons why Paige has the “it” factor.
“Being an ItGirl means you’re just authentic. There’s an air to us. We have confidence that exudes from the way we speak, the way we put our lip gloss on, the way we walk, the way we talk. I show up as myself everytime I walk into a room. I’m hospitable, I make sure everybody’s good,” she says.
Get to know more about the hostess with the mostess in the video above.
See our ItGirl 100 list in full here. Click through the gallery below for some BTS moments of Paige and our partnership with Hyundai.
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