EVERYBODY'S FLY

A crucial figure in hip-hop’s development recalls its (and his) evolution.

Brathwaite—aka Fab 5 Freddy—is best known for being name-checked in Blondie’s hit 1981 single “Rapture” and for hosting MTV’s first foray into hip-hop, Yo! MTV Raps. But as this memoir makes clear, those high-profile moments came on the heels of deep engagement with—and influence on—early hip-hop culture. He grew up a middle-class kid in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, steeped in his family’s love of jazz—drummer Max Roach was his godfather—and he developed an early love of highbrow art and music. But he was also drawn to street-level art, particularly graffiti and the mobile DJs inventing hip-hop. Smart and sociable, he developed relationships with scenesters like Glenn O’Brien—whose public access show Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party was a salon for punk rockers and visual artists—musicians like Blondie’s Debbie Harry, and graffiti-inspired artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat. Those connections helped serve his ambition to put street culture on high-art stages, helping to launch graffiti shows in Europe and starring in the pioneering hip-hop film Wild Style. Brathwaite describes all this with a geniality and humility—smartly, he focuses his narrative on the era from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, when New York welcomed all comers artistically, from taggers to punks to jazz artists to rappers and more. A classic connector, he has a story to tell about seemingly every major player at the time, including Harry, Grandmaster Flash, Andy Warhol, and others. The downside arrived in time: Basquiat overdosed, Blondie broke up, the subway cars became graffiti-repellent. Brathwaite is a sharp writer, and he (along with collaborator Rozzo) might have done more critical thinking about what made that era so special. But it’s a fine snapshot of a pivotal moment for street—and American—culture.

A rich, gritty remembrance of an artist’s journey.