Fab Five Freddy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fab 5 Freddy
|
|
|---|---|
Fab 5 Freddy at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fred Brathwaite |
| Born | August 31, 1959 |
| Origin | Bedford–Stuyvesant, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Associated acts | The Fabulous 5 |
Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American artist, filmmaker, and a pioneer in hip hop. He is seen as one of the key figures who helped start the street art movement. Freddy first became known in New York City's underground art scene in the late 1970s as a graffiti artist. He helped connect the growing rap scene in uptown New York with the No Wave art scene downtown. He became more widely recognized in 1981 when Debbie Harry of the band Blondie mentioned him in their song "Rapture". Later, in the late 1980s, Freddy became the first host of the very popular hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV Raps.
Contents
Fab 5 Freddy's Early Career
From Graffiti to Galleries
In the late 1970s, Freddy joined a graffiti group from Brooklyn called the Fabulous 5. This group was famous for painting entire sides of New York City Subway cars. Freddy and another member, Lee Quiñones, started to move their art from the streets into art galleries. In 1979, they showed their work in a respected gallery in Rome, Italy, called Galleria LaMedusa. In 1980, Freddy painted a subway train with cartoon-like pictures of giant Campbell's Soup cans, inspired by the famous artist Andy Warhol.
Connecting Art and Music Scenes
Freddy often appeared on Glenn O'Brien's TV show TV Party. He also spent a lot of time at the Mudd Club and was part of an important art show called The Times Square Show. Because of this, Freddy became a link between the graffiti and early rap scene in uptown New York and the downtown No Wave art scene. He once said that he was "bringing the whole music, hip-hop, art, break dancing, and urban cultural thing to the downtown table."
Fab 5 Freddy in Film and Music Videos
Early Film Appearances
In late 1980, Glenn O'Brien chose Freddy and fellow graffiti artist Quiñones to be in a film called New York Beat. This movie was later released as Downtown 81. The film showed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in his Lower Manhattan neighborhood and the culture around him. Debbie Harry, the lead singer of Blondie, also appeared in the film. In early 1981, Freddy had a small role in the Blondie music video for "Rapture." In the video, Freddy is seen painting graffiti art in the background. "Rapture" was the first hip hop video ever shown on MTV.
Creating Wild Style
Freddy met filmmaker Charlie Ahearn and they started working on the film Wild Style (1983) in 1981. This movie featured artist Quiñones in the Bronx and showed the growing hip-hop culture there. Wild Style was the first film to truly show hip hop culture. Freddy had the idea for the film to show a positive side of New York City's young people. He wanted to connect break dancing, rapping, DJing, and graffiti as parts of the same culture. Freddy also created the film's original music, helped produce it, and played one of the main characters, Phade, a hip hop club promoter and former graffiti artist.
Fab 5 Freddy's Impact on Art and Music
Bringing Hip Hop to Art Galleries
In April 1981, Freddy worked with Futura 2000 to organize an art show called "Beyond Words" at the Mudd Club. This show featured their own art along with works by Basquiat, Rammellzee, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. This was the first time many artists from the Bronx hip hop scene were shown in the downtown New York City art world. Freddy talked about how art dealers didn't fully understand graffiti at first. He explained that graffiti artists put their unique mark on public property, which is what made graffiti so important.
Influential Music and Tours
In 1982, Freddy recorded the song "Change the Beat" with Bill Laswell’s band Material. Freddy rapped the song in both English and French. This song became one of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop history. A famous line from the song, "Ahhhhh, this stuff is really fresh," has been used in over 2000 hip-hop songs since. It was first used as a scratch sample in the 1983 Herbie Hancock song "Rockit."
Freddy's work on "Change the Beat" led to other records, including a song about graffiti by Futura 2000 with music by The Clash. These songs were first released in France. Soon after, the first hip hop tour in Europe, called "New York City Rap," happened in 1982. In 1983, Freddy also worked with the German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen to create "Hip Hop Bommi Bop." This song is considered the very first collaboration between punk and hip hop music.
Fab 5 Freddy's Later Work and Legacy
Hosting Yo! MTV Raps
In 1988, Freddy became the first hip hop VJ (video jockey) by hosting the MTV music video show Yo! MTV Raps. This show was very important for bringing hip hop music videos to a wider audience.
Film and Television Appearances
Freddy later became an associate producer for the 1991 film New Jack City, where he also had a small role. In 1994, he directed the music video "One Love" for the rapper Nas. He also appeared in several TV shows and movies. In 2007, he played a character on the TV series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". The same year, he had a small role in the film American Gangster. In 2008, he appeared as a wedding guest in the film Rachel Getting Married. In 2016, he played Atticus Howard in an episode of the CBS police drama Blue Bloods.
Recent Projects and Recognition
On August 11, 2017, an animated version of Freddy appeared in a Google Doodle. He was the narrator for the doodle, which celebrated the 44th anniversary of DJ Kool Herc's pioneering use of the hip-hop break.
In 2019, Freddy was the creative director for a large photography and culture exhibit called "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop." This exhibit was based on a book by Vikki Tobak. Freddy also participated in discussions and lectures about the show.
