Fab Five Freddy

Fred Brathewaite was born 1959, and is most widely known as Fab Five Freddy. He was a graffiti artist from the Bronx who is accredited for spreading rap beyond the Bronx boarders. In the year 1980 Freddy was cast in the movie Downtown 81, and shortly after helped produce the movie Wild Style. In April of 1981, Freddy was booked in the art show “Beyond Words” at the Mudd Club, which was the first time that the Hip-Hop graffiti scene was presented in a NYC art show. After "Beyond Words" Freddy was booked in more art shows with other fellow graffiti artists. Later in the same year Blondie came out with a song called “Rapture,” where Freddy had a brief cameo. This was the first rap video on MTV. One of Freddy’s graffiti art pieces titled “Mr. Potato Head” is displayed in the Brooklyn Museum of Art.