Fab Five Freddy

Fred Brathwaite, known to the world as Fab 5 Freddy, was born on August 31, 1959. He is an American artist, filmmaker, TV personality, and a pioneer of hip hop. He played a big role in helping start the street art movement.

In the late 1970s, Fab 5 Freddy became well known in New York's underground art scene. He helped connect the up-town rap world with the downtown No Wave art world. His big break came in 1981, when Debbie Harry mentioned him in the Blondie song "Rapture". She rapped, "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly."

Later, in the late 1980s, he became the first host of the new hip-hop music video show, Yo! MTV Raps. In 2026, he shared his life story in a book called Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music and Changing the Culture, which he wrote with Mark Rozzo, a writer for Vanity Fair.

Career

In the late 1970s, Freddy became part of a Brooklyn group called the Fabulous 5, known for painting whole sides of New York City Subway cars. With another member, Lee Quiñones, they moved from street painting to showing art in galleries. In 1979, they had an exhibition in Rome, Italy.

Freddy was a regular guest on a public access TV show called TV Party. He helped connect different art scenes in New York City. In 1980, he acted in a film called New York Beat, later named Downtown 81, which showed the city's art and music culture. He also appeared in a music video for the band Blondie called "Rapture", the first hip hop video shown on MTV.

Freddy worked with filmmaker Charlie Ahearn on the 1983 film Wild Style, which showed the early days of hip hop culture. He also helped organize art shows and events that brought together different artists and musicians. Later, he became the first hip hop host on MTV's Yo! MTV Raps and continued to work in film and television.