MEMOIR

A crucial figure in hip-hop’s development recalls its (and his) evolution.

Brathwaite—aka Fab 5 Freddy—is best known for being name-checked in Blondie’s hit 1981 single “Rapture” and for hosting MTV’s first foray into hip-hop, Yo! MTV Raps. But as this memoir makes clear, those high-profile moments came on the heels of deep engagement with—and influence on—early hip-hop culture. He grew up a middle-class kid in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, steeped in his family’s love of jazz—drummer Max Roach was his godfather—and he developed an early love of highbrow art and music. [CLICK TO READ MORE]