Fab 5 Freddy
b. Frederick Braithwaite, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Freddy grew up with lawyer parents, his father managing jazz musicians like Max Roach and Clifford Brown. Nowadays best known for his hosting of Yo! MTV Raps, Freddy began life as a rap promoter and grafitti artist, abandoning his college courses in ‘logic’ for the pleasures of decorating I.R.T. trains in pastiches of Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup fetish. He was responsible for the establishment of the Roxy, a former roller-skate rink turned hip hop venue, alongside English-born Cool Lady Blue (he got Afrika Bambaataa his first gig there). After being namechecked by Blondie's 1981 hit Rapture, he was invited to make a rap record for the French Celluloid imprint, who had commissioned Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn to provide them with five ‘rap’ singles. Une Sale Histoire duly emerged, while female rapper Beside, from California, but also rapping in French, took b-side duties. Freddy also appeared on the ‘New York City Rap Tour In Europe’ line-up. This consisted of breakdancers, artists and rappers, a club of which Freddy has never really counted himself a member: ‘I thought it was a cool fuckin' scam. The paintings wasn't moving to fast. It wasn't like I was fighting to launch a career as a rapper. I was just tyrin' to get the rent paid’. Freddy has gone on to a successful career as video director to KRS-1, Snoop Doggy Dogg etc.