Fab 5 Freddy

Episode notes

(Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Several disciplines make up the identity of hip-hop culture. There’s rapping, the literal act of rhyming over a beat. Then there’s the beat itself, usually provided by a DJ or a producer.

There’s breaking, the kind of dancing that came up around the same time rap music did. And then there’s graffiti, or tagging, which is intertwined with those other three things just as closely. 

One of the biggest pioneers of bringing the disciplines of hip-hop together has been Fab 5 Freddy, who was also the original host of Yo! MTV Raps. He’s worked hard to bring those elements together and elevate them into a Fine Art. He documents a lot of it in his new memoir: Everybody’s Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture.

Freddy joins us to talk about the new book and his longstanding connection to hip-hop culture. He takes us back to his teenage years when he was tagging trains and attending DJ parties in the Bronx. He also chats with us about his friendship with Andy Warhol and more!