Fab 5 Freddy: How a kid from Brooklyn changed NYC in the '80s
About this episode
Fab 5 Freddy discusses his influence on NYC's cultural scene in the '80s and his new memoir.
Fab 5 Freddy is a New York City legend who emerged in the early 1980s as a defining figure in the rise of hip-hop and graffiti culture. In his new memoir, "Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture," he shares a firsthand account of helping shape a cultural movement that changed the world. Freddy joined NY1's Errol Louis to talk about growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant surrounded by jazz, and how early hip-hop, graffiti and the downtown punk/new wave scenes collided and cross-pollinated. He reflected on his roles in the film "Wild Style" and Blondie's "Rapture" video alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, and explored themes of creativity, competition and cultural evolution — from the early days of street art to its global influence today. He also weighed in on Burning Man and the impact of gentrification on New York's creative ecosystems.
People in this episode
Host: Errol Louis
Guest: Fab 5 Freddy
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture, Wild Style, Rapture
Places: New York City, Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York
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