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Fat Joe Plugs the Bronx 'No Commission' Art Fair | Insta of the Week

The No Commission art fair drew some controversy, but Fat Joe lays it down straight.

Much love @fatjoe #BX #nocommission

A video posted by therealswizzz (@therealswizzz) on

Aug 10, 2016 at 6:32am PDT

Yesterday Swizz Beatz kicked off the No Commission art fair in the Bronx, in which artists can display their work for free and take home 100% of the profits, subsidized by partnerships with Bacardi and The Dean Collection. This model earned $1 million dollars for artists when Swizz Beatz tried it out at Art Basel last year. Fat Joe laid down a rythmic endorsement of No Commission's mission to "bring art back to the Bronx," in the wake of some controversy around the fair's potential to contribute to gentrification.

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Welcome 2 the Bronx founder Ed García Conde criticized the fair as following the footsteps of Macabre Suite, a Bronx art party decorated with burning oil cans and bullet-ridden cars. "So where do we begin dissecting of EVERYTHING that is simply wrong about this 4-day event?" Garcia writes. "The sheer audacity, the balls, the arrogance, the utter fucking gall to proclaim that they are somehow bringing contemporary art and music back to The Bronx, you know, the borough that gave birth to Hip Hop [sic]? The borough that never stopped creating and kept gifting the world with our many talented artists and musicians?"

Swizz Beatz responded to the crticism by reportedly speaking with Garcia for several hours, and they seem to have settled some of their differences. "A big #Bronx thanks to @therealswizzz for taking the time to meet with us regarding the #NoCommissionBronx Art Fair and to have real dialog about community concerns," Garcia posted on Instagram. "We have good news to share so stay tuned, folks." In a second blog post, he alludes to a future collaboration between the two that will include artists from the Bronx. They also added a mural by Bronx artists Crash One, Tatscru, and James Sexer Rodriguez to the programming for No Commission.

@sexer1 @tatscru @crashone Thx and Blessings #nocommission #positivevibesonly

A photo posted by therealswizzz (@therealswizzz) on

Aug 10, 2016 at 4:16pm PDT

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"The Bronx ain't never seen no shit like this. Everybody gotta come out and support. Hip-hop culture meets the arts. Tatscru, legendary artists will be in the building," Fat Joe says in Swizz Beatz's Instagram video, which was posted after the latter's reconciliation with Garcia. Learn more about the No Commission art fair here, and follow Swizz Beatz here. Find your next favorite artist on The Creators Project's Instagram.

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