Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5
Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer.
He emerged in New York's downtown underground creative scene in the
late 1970s as a camera operator and a regular guest on Glenn O'Brien's
public access cable show TV Party. There he met Chris Stein and Debbie
Harry. He was immortalized in 1981 when Harry rapped on the Blondie
song "Rapture" that "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." In the
late 1980s, Fab 5 Freddy became the first host of the groundbreaking
and first internationally telecast hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV
Raps.In the late 1970s, Freddy became a member of the Brooklyn-based
graffiti group the Fabulous 5, known for painting the entire side of
New York City Subway cars. Along with other Fabulous 5 member Lee
Quiñones, under his direction they began to shift from street
graffiti to transition into the art world and in 1979 they both
exhibited in a prestigious gallery in Rome Italy, Galleria LaMedusa.
In 1980, he painted a subway train with cartoon style depictions of
giant Campbell's Soup cans, after Andy Warhol. He was the bridge
between the New York uptown graffiti and early rap scene and the
downtown art and punk music scenes. "I was bringing the whole music,
hip-hop, art, break dancing, and urban cultural thing to the downtown
table," he said.At the end of 1980, Glenn O'Brien cast Freddy, along
with fellow Lower East Side graffiti writer Lee Quiñones, in the film
New York Beat (later released as Downtown 81). That film showcased
artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in his Lower Manhattan environment and the
culture that surrounded it. Shortly after, Freddy began production
along with filmmaker Charlie Ahearn on his film Wild Style (1982),
which showcased artist Lee Quiñones in the Uptown, Manhattan
environment of the Bronx and the music that surrounded it.In April
1981, Freddy co curated with Futura 2000 the graffiti-related art show
Beyond Words, at the Mudd Club which contained their own work along
with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rammellzee, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and
others. This was the first time the many members of the Bronx hip hop
scene had appeared in the downtown New York City art world. On his
relationship with art dealers, Freddy explains, "They didn’t know
me, but they had heard of graffiti. But they didn’t understand the
importance and the significance of what happened because, see, really
what this comes down to is that my background basically is that of a
vandal. I vandalize public property....In the real world, in New York,
what made graffiti what it is, was the marriage which was the placing
of the individual’s mark on that blank surface. But that blank
surface that the individual graffiti person tags on, belongs to
someone." The following month, Freddy was booked on Henry Chalfant's
"Graffiti Rock" performance with Rock Steady Crew at Common Ground
gallery in SoHo (not to be confused with Holman's Graffiti Rock TV
show pilot). That show was cancelled due to violence, but was
rescheduled in October at another venue called The Kitchen.
Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer.
He emerged in New York's downtown underground creative scene in the
late 1970s as a camera operator and a regular guest on Glenn O'Brien's
public access cable show TV Party. There he met Chris Stein and Debbie
Harry. He was immortalized in 1981 when Harry rapped on the Blondie
song "Rapture" that "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." In the
late 1980s, Fab 5 Freddy became the first host of the groundbreaking
and first internationally telecast hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV
Raps.In the late 1970s, Freddy became a member of the Brooklyn-based
graffiti group the Fabulous 5, known for painting the entire side of
New York City Subway cars. Along with other Fabulous 5 member Lee
Quiñones, under his direction they began to shift from street
graffiti to transition into the art world and in 1979 they both
exhibited in a prestigious gallery in Rome Italy, Galleria LaMedusa.
In 1980, he painted a subway train with cartoon style depictions of
giant Campbell's Soup cans, after Andy Warhol. He was the bridge
between the New York uptown graffiti and early rap scene and the
downtown art and punk music scenes. "I was bringing the whole music,
hip-hop, art, break dancing, and urban cultural thing to the downtown
table," he said.At the end of 1980, Glenn O'Brien cast Freddy, along
with fellow Lower East Side graffiti writer Lee Quiñones, in the film
New York Beat (later released as Downtown 81). That film showcased
artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in his Lower Manhattan environment and the
culture that surrounded it. Shortly after, Freddy began production
along with filmmaker Charlie Ahearn on his film Wild Style (1982),
which showcased artist Lee Quiñones in the Uptown, Manhattan
environment of the Bronx and the music that surrounded it.In April
1981, Freddy co curated with Futura 2000 the graffiti-related art show
Beyond Words, at the Mudd Club which contained their own work along
with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rammellzee, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and
others. This was the first time the many members of the Bronx hip hop
scene had appeared in the downtown New York City art world. On his
relationship with art dealers, Freddy explains, "They didn’t know
me, but they had heard of graffiti. But they didn’t understand the
importance and the significance of what happened because, see, really
what this comes down to is that my background basically is that of a
vandal. I vandalize public property....In the real world, in New York,
what made graffiti what it is, was the marriage which was the placing
of the individual’s mark on that blank surface. But that blank
surface that the individual graffiti person tags on, belongs to
someone." The following month, Freddy was booked on Henry Chalfant's
"Graffiti Rock" performance with Rock Steady Crew at Common Ground
gallery in SoHo (not to be confused with Holman's Graffiti Rock TV
show pilot). That show was cancelled due to violence, but was
rescheduled in October at another venue called The Kitchen.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.