Edition #11

[Hip Hop 50] Nas x Futura 3rd Edition

Edition #11

[Hip Hop 50] Nas x Futura 3rd Edition

In celebration of Hip Hop's 50-year legacy and the culmination of a unique collaboration between legendary artists Nas and FUTURA, we unveil the third and final artwork of this limited-edition vinyl set that pays homage to Hip Hop's illustrious 50-year legacy.

At the heart of this reveal lies the final canvas in the coveted triptych set: FUTURA's masterpiece, "FUTURE LOOK FOR FLASH." A fusion of FUTURA's boundless creativity and Nas' expertly curated tracks, this release provides a tangible piece of Hip Hop history.

Edition 3 is limited to just 250 units and accompanied by 20 hand-finished vinyl records featuring the co-signatures of Nas and FUTURA. Additionally, a special release of 30 triptych sets showcases Editions 1, 2, and 3 and offers the unique opportunity to own the artwork “FUTURE LOOK FOR FLASH.”

BEHIND THE SCENES

Hip Hop 50 - The 3rd Edition

In a candid interview, Nas and FUTURA explore the intertwined histories of Hip Hop and graffiti. They reflect on vinyl's enduring appeal, their commitment to authenticity, and how their collaboration honours Hip Hop's past while inspiring future generations, merging music and visual art into a powerful legacy piece.

THE TRIPTYCH

FUTURE LOOK FOR FLASH

“Hip Hop” culture as we know it today was just emerging. Within this culture, the graffiti movement was also developing. Futura 2000 was part of it all. He had always been into sci-fi and anything futuristic, especially growing up in the ’60s witnessing the first man on the moon. He was drawing robotic characters early on. The idea of DJs, MCs, breakdancers, and graffiti writers/artists jamming together was just for fun.

In FUTURA’s "FUTURE LOOK FOR FLASH" painting, he focused on the DJ as the main character, the conductor of the party, but putting it in a robotic world — it’s a ‘Future Look’. The robot DJ is spinning on four hovering turntables, which was quite imaginative 42 years ago. The robot isn’t meant to be Grandmaster Flash. He was the most popular DJ, so he borrowed his name. When the triptych paintings are placed together, the figuratively abstract feature is that it spells out F-U-T-U-R-A.

When the graffiti movement moved to the art galleries, naturally, paintings were made on traditional canvases, inside of train cars. But Futura always wanted not to do what everyone did, so he decided to paint on metal sheets. Metal takes paint well, but he had a period where he painted on different metal pieces. Also, robots are made of metal.