Fab 5 Freddy

Fred Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, emerged in the late 1970s as a New York City graffiti artist who became one of the first to exhibit his paintings internationally. Born in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, his introduction to pop culture came courtesy of a name check on Blondie’s 1981 hit “Rapture.” Alongside friends and contemporaries Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Lee Quinones, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab was a key player in New York’s 1980s downtown cultural scene, instrumental in elevating graffiti into a disruptive movement that would eventually give birth to street art.

In addition to his visual art, Fab co-produced, starred in, and composed the music for the cult classic film Wild Style, and went on to direct music videos for hip-hop stars including Snoop Dogg, Nas, and Queen Latifah. From the late 1980s into the mid-90s, he was the original host of Yo! MTV Raps, the groundbreaking show that took hip-hop culture global.

His early artwork was featured at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the exhibition Writing the Future: Basquiat & The Hip Hop Generation. His 2019 Netflix documentary Grass is Greener examines the history of cannabis, music, and criminal justice in America — an experience that inspired him to launch B NOBLE, a social equity cannabis brand now available in ten states.

Today, Fab continues to make and exhibit visual art and produce and direct projects for film and television. He lives in Harlem. His new book, Everybody’s Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture, will be published in March 2026.