Like any kid, Kasseem Dean would draw airplanes on bits of blank paper. Two wings, a cockpit, and a tail—child’s play sketches that were, without him realising it, flights of fancy of a future away from his corner in New York’s South Bronx.
Today, the planes he dreams up are massive, gleaming airliners, rolling out of the hangar and onto the tarmac. Kasseem Dean—the man the world knows as ‘Swizz Beatz’, is no longer just scribbling wildly, he’s drafting blueprints, designing the actual livery of a state-of-the-art Boeing 777 bearing his bold aesthetic.
This pivot from platinum-selling hip-hop producer to global cultural curator—culminating in a groundbreaking partnership with Qatar Airways—is the latest (and perhaps most ambitious) chapter in a career defined by an unwavering dedication to creativity, community, and being a living example of having no limits.
The moment of truth recently played out under the vibrant, high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One Grand Prix in Qatar. Cohorted by the likes of Kevin Hart, David Beckham, Novak Djokovic and Jessica Alba, and against a backdrop of roaring engines, a curtain dropped to reveal a Qatar Airways aircraft whose exterior design was designed by Swizz. It was both a testament to his singular vision, and a soaring symbol of collaboration.
“I’ve done some pretty cool things in my life, but this feels like the biggest,” Swizz Beatz admits with palpable sense of awe still in his voice. “I’m usually behind the scenes on the things that I do, but I wanted to step out front for this one,” he chuckles. “This one gave me some serious cool points in my house!”
The f1-themed aircraft, a major departure from standard livery, is less branding exercise and more artistic statement. It represents an intersection of Swizz’s passions: design, architecture, and a desire to challenge convention.
“I wanted to design the plane as a private jet, but one that could be used for commercial use,” he explains. Rejecting the predictable use of checkerboard flags and car lines, Swizz looked to a higher design standard. “Being a fan of architecture and design, I started thinking, what would John Nouvel do if he had to design a plane? What about Philippe Starck? Or David Adjaye?”
The result was one of sleek and sweeping lines, block colours incorporating the logo of the carrier and, as the official airline of Formula One, the branding of that too —“but done tastefully”. To achieve the result he worked alongside, Aurora Saboir, an award-winning private jet designer, acknowledging the necessity of the partnership needed to create something special. “Aurora has all the technical skills, and you need that type of collaboration with people if you are going to make something exceptional.
It’s like me being in the music studio, I can make all the beats that I want, but if I don’t have an engineer working with me doing the technical side, then the sound is never going to compete with the best.”
For the boy from a notoriously unflash neighbourhood who would draw planes, seeing one materialize was an emotional reckoning. “Here I am just a guy from the Bronx, and now I get to design a plane for the F1? It was a pretty unbelievable experience, when you go from a render to walking up the steps of it, with my daughter and oldest son with me, to see them happy and proud—that’s a hell of a feeling. It gives me driving power to carry on.”
In effect, the airplane is a symbol. More than anything, it is a case study for having no limits. “The sky is not the limit, it’s the view,” says Swizz who hopes it will be seen as an example for the next generation of creatives: “Coming from the south Bronx, to see people on the other side of the world dropping the curtain on a plane that you designed—it’s pretty wild. I want it to be an example for people who have to start from the bottom, like I did, and work their way up.” This sentiment echoes his enduring commitment to personal growth: “It is super important to continue to grow. That’s why I went back to school. It’s why I’m going back to school again—it’s to show people that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.”
TALENT’S OWN
The plane, as spectacular as it is, is only the splashy launch of a far deeper, more significant collaboration: The Creative 100. This initiative, set to be unveiled at Art Basel Doha in February 2026, solidifies Swizz Beatz’s role not just as an artist, but, as describes it: “a patriot for creativity.”
“The initial conversation I had with Qatar Airways wasn’t about a plane, it was about how we could form a creative relationship where we could do something amazing, and long-term—that is how the Creative 100 came about.”
Swizz Beatz has learned the hard lessons of the music industry—lessons of ownership, value, and structure. He applied that knowledge directly to this partnership. “I didn’t want to be a Creative Director, or an Ambassador, I just wanted to be a Partner—it gets straight to the point. We own the IP of the Creative 100 together, 50:50.”
The initiative’s purpose reflects his commitment to lifting the entire creative class. “Everything I do, I try to allow ‘the creatives’ to see themselves in the project.So, for the Creative 100, I wanted it to be something that brings people up together.”
Crucially, he stresses that this project is not about creating an exclusive hierarchy, but an interconnected network. “The Creative 100 is not a list—I don’t like the word ‘list’—it is about building a community.”
Finding the participants, he notes, is the easy part: “Putting together a list of one hundred creative talents is not hard—there are so many talented people around the world. Heck, we could put together 100 seriously creative people right here, right now, in Doha!”
The true innovation of the project lies in breaking down the walls that typically separate industries. “It is super important to have communities communicate with each other. The crazy thing that I’ve found is that in pretty much every creative field, things are so siloed. No one talks to each other, not in an arrogant way, it’s just that people are so tuned in to what they are doing they can forget to look up.”
Swizz Beatz sees the immense potential for cross-pollination. “With what we’ve found with The Dean Collection, is that creative people have so much in common, and that there is such a benefit of having them talk to each other. A musician talking to a film director, or the CEO of an apparel company—that can unlock things.” He envisions a powerful, constantly communicating network: “The Creative 100 is like a WhatsApp group filled with really highly functioning and creative people. If you want to ask a question, you’ll probably get ten answers from it, helping you out.”
Part of is also to highlight figures who are creatively impactful but might be unsung, like Flavio Manzoni, the head designer of Ferrari, or Black Coffee, the South African DJ, who is also a significant art collector. “I’m in a position to do something personally amazing in this partnership with Qatar Airways—but the idea was, what if we could bring other people along with us? Like, let’s take 100 people with us every year, and create a platform to get them all into better positions.”
Swizz beatz’s global perspective is not new; it is a core component of his identity. His relationship with the Middle East stretches back nearly two decades. “I’ve been coming over and working in the Middle East since 2006. It is not just a transactional relationship I have with this region, I have learnt from the culture and it has helped educate me.”
His early, bold forays into the region include working with Jumeirah Group in 2006, back before The Palm in Dubai was fully completed. This willingness to immerse himself—to give input rather than just take—is what he believes maximises talent. “Learning those cultural lessons globally, that’s where you reinforce your talent and your strengths, when you learn from others and give input into communities rather than just take from them.”
This perspective led to one of his most unique cross-cultural ventures: Saudi Bronx. This is the name of his camel racing team in Saudi Arabia, where he became the first American owner and race winner. “I built a camel racing team in Saudi, because, yes, it’s cool—but I also wanted it to be a homage back to the people who had been showing me so much love for so long,” he says of the venture. It is the ultimate fusion of his New York roots and his deep appreciation for Middle Eastern tradition, proving that if a Grammy-winning producer can successfully compete in an ancient sport, any perceived cultural barrier is merely an invention to be overcome.
Swizz’s impact as a curator extends directly into the world of fine art, a passion he shares with his wife, the celebrated artist Alicia Keys. Together, they founded the Dean Collection, which is far more than a private holding; it is a movement.
The Dean Collection is celebrated for amassing the largest private collection of works by legendary photographer Gordon Parks and for championing contemporary Black artists, including Kehinde Wiley, Nina Chanel Abney, and Derrick Adams. Their goal is explicit: to use their platform to shift the balance of power and value in the art world. Their travelling exhibition, Giants: Art from the Dean Collection, is a monumental presentation of Black diasporic artists, making a powerful statement on legacy and influence.
This mission is also the driver behind his signature art event, No Commission, where artists are allowed to keep 100 percent of their sales—a concept born from his desire to stop the exploitation of creatives across all fields.
In every endeavor—from the meticulous, architectural design of an F1 airplane to establishing a winning camel racing team to elevating the voices of Black artists through The Dean Collection and fostering a global creative community with Qatar Airways—Swizz Beatz proves that the true role of a cultural curator is to break down silos.
He is the coach who is playing on the team, constantly going back to school, not for credentials, but to show others that the work is never finished. And as the plane he designed takes to the skies, it carries a very specific message from the Bronx to Doha and beyond: there are no limits, only views.
Photography by Alex J Robson / Styling by Laura Jane Brown / Creative Direction by Emile Zarife / Grooming: Vesselka Vissotchkova / Senior Producer: Steff Hawker / Producer: Shahid Ahmed / Styling Assistants: Sandra Krishna and Parish Santiago / Lighting Assistants: Resolution Hire Qatar / Special thanks to Qatar Airways
