Everybody's fly A life of art, music, and changing the culture

Street artist and hip-hop producer Freddy "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite debuts with a rollicking memoir of the downtown art and music scenes of 1970s and '80s New York City. Growing up in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the 1970s, Brathwaite was inspired by a high school trip to the MoMA to steal spray paint cans from shop class and tag subway trains. "The graffiti gave me visibility, and the visibility gave me status," he writes, detailing how he teamed up with Lee Quiñones and other members of the legendary Fabulous 5 graffiti crew. At the same time, he connected with MC Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash, "tapping into the scene" of the emerging music style known as rap. Much of the memoir reads like a downtown picaresque: as a public access TV cameraman, Brathwaite met Debbie Harry, Robert Mapplethorpe, and David Byrne; when he met Jean-Michel Basquiat, the two "vibed instantly," as both were Brooklyn-raised with Caribbean roots. In the book's final third, the party slows down to make room for somber reflections on AIDS and the racial politics of MTV, with Brathwaite's forceful points weakened somewhat by the tonal whiplash. Still, for readers interested in the birth of hip-hop, this is a must. Agent: Luke Janklow, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Mar.)

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 showGlenn 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 filmWild 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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.