Artists Gisella Velasco and Toni Potenciano have been pairing classic paintings by famous painters and hip hop lyrics by contemporary musicians since December 2013.

Some of the art pieces are the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Matisse, and Dali, and the lyrics are from popular songs by musicians such as Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and Beyonce, amongst others. The marriage of the paintings and lyrics are surprisingly amusing:

Follow the ongoing project on Tumblr.


Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (c.1503) / Super Bass, Nicki Minaj


The Birth of Venus (1486), Sandro Botticelli / ***Flawless, Beyonce ft. Chimamanda Ngozie Adiche


Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881) / Super Rich Kids, Frank Ocean


Dancers practicing at the barre (1877), Edgar Degas / Fergalicious, Fergie feat. Will.i.am


A Lady Writing a Letter, with her Maid (c.1670), Johannes Vermeer / Otis, Jay-Z, Kanye West feat. Otis Redding


The first coat (1892), Vladimir Makovsky / American Boy, Estelle feat. Kanye West


The Family of Henry VIII (c. 1572), Lucas de Heere / Big Poppa, The Notorious B.I.G.


Noli Me Tangere (1442), Fra Angelico / U Can’t Touch This, MC Hammer


Phaedra, Alexandre Cabanel (1880) / Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe, Kendrick Lamar


The Persistence of Memory (1931), Salvador Dali / Ms. Jackson, Outkast


The Ascension (1775), John Singleton Copley / Touch The Sky, Kanye West ft. Lupe Fiasco


Antoine-François Callet, King Louis XVI (1754-1793) / C.R.E.A.M., Wu-Tang Clan


The Death of Marat, Jacques-Louis David (1793) / N.Y. State of Mind, NaS


Love’s Shadow (1887), Frederick Sandys / Ring the Alarm, Beyonce


Hell (1450), Dirk Bouts / Drop It Like It’s Hot, Snoop Dogg feat. Pharell Williams


Icarus and Daedalus (c. 1869), Frederic Leighton / Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Offspring


L’Absinthe (1876), Edgar Degas / Gin and Juice, Snoop Dogg


Louis XIV (1701), Hyacinthe Rigaud / Tom Ford, Jay-Z ft. Beyonce


Pelt Merchant of Cairo (1869), Jean-Leon Gerome / Cold.1, G.O.O.D. Music feat. Kanye West & DJ Khaled


La Coiffure (1901), Henri Matisse / Rocket, Beyonce