FAB 5 FREDDY

Fred Brathwaite, more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is a visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop revolutionary. Born in Bedford Stuyvesant and raised by jazz aficionados, he joined the graffiti crew “The Fabulous 5” as a teenager in the 1970s. He earned his name by persistently spraying it on the number 5 train on the IRT subway. In 1979, Fab 5 Freddy gained media attention when he and graffiti artist Lee Quinones were featured in The Village Voice, leading to a show at Claudio Bruni’s gallery in Rome. His graffiti art soon accompanied popular artists like Futura 2000. Early in Freddy’s career, he worked as a film cameraman and appeared on Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party. He produced and starred in Wild Style in 1983, appeared in films like American Gangster, and directed music videos like Nas’s “One Love.” His recent Netflix film Grass is Greener explores cannabis, music, and criminal justice. In 2021, he launched the B Noble cannabis brand. Freddy’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine.