In 2005, Vinoda Basnayake, a then police educatee, helped with promoting a Kanye West operation at Club2K9 in Washington, DC. This was when Westward had i single, "Through The Wire," simply Basnayake said even then he understood how gifted he was.

"I but think he's so talented," says Basnayake. "Equally a music producer and as an artist in every sense of the word, he's but incredible."

West went on to become what he would become, and Basnayake, a lawyer who represents foreign governments past day and runs a hospitality fund at night—he co-owns popular venues in DC including Heist, Morris American Bar, Sheppard, and Casta's—would become a big Kanye West fan. Just he, like most people, had no idea that Kanye was an award-winning teenage artist until he happened to run into an episode of PBS's Antiques Roadshow well-nigh a year ago.

Vinoda Basnayake Kanye West Art Collector
Vinoda Basnayake sitting next to Kanye West'south art from high schoolhouse. Photo by Andrew Cajas.

Basnayake says the show simply happened to exist on in the background and he noticed some incredible art and so he turned the volume upward only to realize that Kanye West was the artist. Basnayake was shocked, but immediately started to think nigh how he could acquire it. He searched for the admirer on the show, who was married to Donda Westward's first cousin. When Kanye's female parent died in 2007 this cousin received information technology as part of her manor. It took Basnayake a yr of persistence, but at the top of this year he finally acquired the collection of art, which consisted of four pieces that the appraiser on Antiques Roadshow valued at between $xvi,000 and $23,000. Here, Basnayake talks virtually his journey to purchase the pieces, what he plans on doing with them, and if he's heard from Kanye.


Why were you interested in purchasing the art?
I call up he's a musical genius, and I was shocked by the art considering information technology was sort of like, this guy's bright, and it's regardless of the medium of the art. He's just so talented. I was super impressed. I've always been actually interested in the origin of artists, and where the fine art comes from, and all that. Information technology's not part of Kanye Westward's narrative, the fact that he was this honor-winning child savant at art. Everyone knows that he's brilliant when it comes to music, and he'south a generational talent as a producer, but the fact that he had won all these fine art competitions equally a child, the fact that he had traveled internationally and studied fine art. It was a very compelling story, so I basically searched far and wide to get the contact data of the person who was on the show, who happened to be his mom'south cousin's husband.

What happened after you contacted them?
I finally got in touch with him. I basically said, "I live in Washington, DC and I collect modern art, and I'm a big fan of Kanye Westward's art as a musician, and I was actually taken past the pieces you had on the show. Would you be interested in selling?" He basically didn't go back to me for a couple of months. He got back to me a couple months later, and he said, "Nosotros'd consider it," but it wasn't necessarily something he was thinking almost doing. Months went by and I kept kind of pursuing him and saying, "If you lot e'er alter your mind, I have a genuine involvement in these pieces. I am involved in the arts in many different ways. I really feel like I'd be a good abode for it, et cetera." Then the second calendar week of January, he contacted me, and he said, "I think we're ready to sell." So we did the transaction.

Did you get and pick it upwards?
Yep. I'm in DC and I was 100 percent too nervous to have the pieces shipped. Then I flew to them in Los Angeles and picked up four unlike pieces. And they were all unlike mediums, which was cool.

I idea there were much more than what they presented on the show.
They said that they had a portfolio, which I was willing to purchase, but they said a lot of what they had in that portfolio was sketchbook fine art and they don't know where that is. To my understanding, it wasn't actual pieces. Information technology was more like a sketchbook of his doodles, and drawings, and things like that.

There's actually a program that I have that came with the art that was from his art show in 1995, and information technology lists all the awards that he has or all the awards that his art had won, and it's a really impressive list. And so as an aside, it says, "He's going to go to the American Academy of Fine art where he'due south going to focus on his fine art and as well his other interests in music production." I think it's kind of cool.

I know you can't say how much yous spent on it, but did you think the appraisal on the show was too low?
I think art is very subjective, correct? Something is worth what the market's willing to pay. There's artists out at that place who are but every bit talented every bit another artist. 1 artist'due south work could be millions of dollars, and the other's could be thousands of dollars. Art is really subjective. It's hard to say whether appraisals ever fit what the fine art is worth considering art is so subjective. I think Kanye, as I said, is an intergenerational talent. I remember that he'southward going to exist remembered equally i of the best producers of our times. I remember he's a genius, and to have an early piece of his art, even of a different medium, to me, is very hard to put a price tag on, which is why I really wanted to acquire it. I hateful that'southward a really long-winded way of saying I call back the value of his fine art is merely going to increase because he'southward just so talented.

It's hard to say, right? Just I was really interested in it because I genuinely love artists' origin stories. That'south how I started my career. I found artists that I idea were talented that were non mainstream, and so I book them for shows. I did that with Jay Sean, the musician. He was a U.k. med student when I connected with him, then we brought him to the Usa, and inside six months he had "Down," and it was the No. ane runway in America. I was his bout director for the first year because literally he didn't have fifty-fifty i track on American radio, and I was like, "This guy's got mad skills. I think he's going to blow up."

I did the same with Russell Peters, the comedian. He had a YouTube prune that was going viral. I hitting him upwardly, and I was like, "Hey, I know you're big in Canada. I would love to be the first promoter who brings you to the Usa. I think yous could kill it here." And he killed it hither. Inside a twelvemonth, he was one of the highest-grossing comedians in America. With this art it was really interesting because it'south where his creative origin was, and that's what I'm super interested in. Obviously, I wasn't there to capture his creative origin early, only that'southward the type of affair that I'thousand really attracted to.

You kind of lucked out with timing, since no ane paid it a lot of attending when the show start aired.
I honestly think information technology would have gotten much more printing, even in March, had it not been the commencement calendar month of the pandemic. And so I desire to say a calendar week after I picked it up, Kim Kardashian posted Due north's artwork and on her Instagram she posted a throwback to Kanye's art and it was literally the four pieces that I own.

Have either Kim or Kanye reached out?
No. I've gotten a ton of outreach, a ton of outreach from people who are like, "Can I connect you to Kim or Kanye?" Only I feel like I'g kind of always skeptical of brokers. You know what I mean? Because it's sort of like, "Oh, I know Kanye. Do you want me to connect y'all? I'm only going to take x percent." Y'all only never know. I've gotten a ton of those, a ton of those inflows, but I haven't gotten directly contacted by either of them. Like I said, I'm an admirer of the fine art. I'm an admirer of very, very talented artists, and if Kanye wants the pieces, he has every right to take them.

Why do you think they sold information technology to you? Did they say other people were trying to purchase information technology?
Yeah, he said a couple people had reached out. He really wrote me a really squeamish note where he was similar, "A bunch of people reached out, but y'all seemed similar the near sincere and the almost 18-carat, and so I've decided to go with yous." It was very nice.

I know you can't talk near cost, but was at that place a limit to what y'all would accept spent on information technology? Did you take a budget?
I hateful at present that I bought it, I can say that I call up nosotros ended up at a price that was off-white, and so I don't know. I really don't know. In that location'southward definitely a price that I couldn't afford. You know what I mean?

Are they hanging upwardly in your place? Accept you put them in frames?
The day that I got them I took them to become museum-framed so they can be protected, because when I picked them up, they were literally in an old, leather portfolio, which was most frightening. I only got them dorsum. I was going to put them upwards in my house. I take some really absurd art in my house, but now I'm like, "I call up I need to effigy out whether that'due south what I'one thousand going to do." But I literally just got them back.

OK. You lot have the pieces at present. What are you lot going to do with them?
I mean, information technology'southward funny because if Kim Kardashian hadn't posted them, I don't know if information technology would accept just been some… I remember people buy art because it brings them joy, and they appreciate the creator and that whole process, correct? That'southward the main reason I bought it in the showtime identify. It's considering I'm such an gentleman of Kanye'due south talent. At present that it's gotten this attention, a couple of museums have reached out to me most loaning the pieces, which is interesting.

How practise you feel almost that?
I'm open to it. I'm open. I feel like he'southward a real talent and his art and sort of the origins of his talent should be in the public space for people to see. So I'chiliad open to it. I wasn't anticipating this much attention coming to the art.

What other artists do you collect?
I have a couple of Justin Bua originals. I of my favorite fine art stories of all time is my Justin Bua story, because basically what happened is Justin Bua's most famous slice is the DJ, which is a poster that everyone used to accept in their college dorm. I ever had the DJ poster in my college dorm because I was throwing parties in college, which is how I got into promotions and stuff. And then the DJ poster resonated with me. And so completely randomly when I bought my new house, I was looking for fine art, and a friend of mine purchased a couple of pieces from Justin Bua and I didn't know that the poster I had in my college dorm was past him. So my friend connected me with him and I purchased a couple pieces.

Yeah, it was really sweet. He did a post. He actually then took the painting that he did of the portrait of my cat, and fabricated it a poster, and sold information technology on his website, which is absurd because at present people have my true cat on their walls. I accept a couple of Mr. Educate originals. I have a Murakami. I know that Kanye collects Murakami as well. In my firm, I accept an elevator that's a mural done by Amelia ST and Randi Kontner (Randmade), who's an up-and-coming artist.

What would happen if Kanye said, "I'd like to purchase information technology from you?"
This started considering I am a huge gentleman of Kanye every bit an creative person. I've e'er been on the promotion, management side of a bunch of artists, so I'1000 an artist-offset kind of person. If he wants them back, it's his art. He has a right to accept his art. I'chiliad happy to accept that conversation.

Only you wouldn't just give them to him, correct?
Yeah. I hateful, yep. I hateful, there'due south probably a universe in which we could figure something out. I'm sure we could figure something out.