Fab 5 Freddy’s 'Everybody’s Fly' is a backstage pass to NYC’s new wave hip hop scene

Summary

Podcast Summary: NPR’s Book of the Day – Fab 5 Freddy’s 'Everybody’s Fly' is a Backstage Pass to NYC’s New Wave Hip Hop Scene
Date: March 24, 2026
Host: Timbid Ermias (NPR)
Guest: Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)
Interviewer: Adrienne Ma

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Fab 5 Freddy's new memoir, Everybody’s Fly, offering an immersive journey through the origins and evolution of New York’s early hip hop scene. Hosted by Timbid Ermias and featuring an interview by Adrienne Ma, the episode explores Freddy’s pivotal role in connecting graffiti, music, art, and street culture, and examines how he bridged countercultural movements to propel hip hop into the mainstream.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origins and Artistic Vision of Fab 5 Freddy

• Street Art as Cultural Statement

  • Freddy grew up inspired by the city’s vibrant graffiti scene. Describing the subways as “one of the major platforms” for creativity, he shares memories of painting huge Campbell's soup cans in homage to Andy Warhol.
  • Quote (01:38):
    • “New York graffiti was a thing that had been going on and developing, and the subways were one of the major platforms, if you will, no pun intended.” — Fab 5 Freddy
  • His art was both a personal manifesto and a statement for the recognition of graffiti as legitimate art.
  • Quote (02:10):
    • “It was sort of a manifesto as a way to explain and show people that we are artists and we are aware of the history of art and this connection to pop art.” — Fab 5 Freddy

• Linking Art and Underground Music

  • Freddy was at the intersection of underground art scenes and emerging punk and new wave movements, frequently connecting artists, musicians, and creatives—famously advising Debbie Harry of Blondie, inspiring the lyric:
    • Quote (02:48):
      • “Everybody’s Fly comes from what I told Blondie. And it’s the opening part of the rap in ‘Rapture,’ actually. So that’s, you know, ‘Fab five Freddy told me everybody’s fly…’” — Fab 5 Freddy

2. From Vandalism to the Art World (04:24–05:53)

• Freddy recounts his transition from street graffiti to gallery exhibitions:
  • His work was recognized in the Village Voice, and commissions for murals started at $5 a square foot.
  • An Italian gallerist from Rome’s prestigious Galleria La Medusa invited Freddy and his peers to exhibit, underscoring international recognition of graffiti.
  • Quote (05:22):
    • “It was really kind of surprising that it would be a gallery, like in Europe, you know, like with a renaissance or Italy, specifically, where the renaissance was actually born. Would get this and want to show us. It was incredible. Amazing.” — Fab 5 Freddy

3. Hip Hop’s Cinematic Introduction: Wild Style (06:03–07:28)

• Freddy conceived and helped produce Wild Style (released early 1980s), a foundational film for hip hop culture.
  • The film showcased graffiti, DJing, and rapping.
  • Collaboration with Lee Quinones was crucial for authenticity and impact.
  • Quote (06:29):
    • “One of the best ways to do it would be to make a film... to really showcase who we really are.” — Fab 5 Freddy
  • The international response was unexpectedly enthusiastic.
    • “It was remarkable how well it translated around the world. It was just mind blowing.” — Fab 5 Freddy (07:17)

4. Iconic Television: Hosting Yo! MTV Raps (07:28–09:12)

• Freddy became the first host of Yo! MTV Raps, the first nationally televised hip hop show (c. 1988).
  • He insisted on getting out of the studio to connect with artists “in the street, in their basement, wherever they’re making their music.”
  • Quote (08:00):
    • “I don’t want to be cooped up in that studio... I would travel, go to other cities, go to South Central... and interview NWA for the first time, or Luke in Miami, or Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince... That just worked.” — Fab 5 Freddy
  • The show’s impact was immediate and massive—outperforming expectations and pushing hip hop into the mainstream.
    • “MTV thought that the Nielsen system was broken because it worked through so effectively, and it just was crazy.” — Fab 5 Freddy (08:24)
  • The show’s popularity even before radio embraced hip hop was “incredible.”
    • Quote (08:53):
      • “No, that’s what I mean. So the show had an incredible impact, and that helped more people jump on board... It was funny.” — Fab 5 Freddy

5. Reflections on Hip Hop’s Current State (09:21–10:15)

• Freddy marvels at the genre’s global impact and adaptability:
  • Celebrating hip hop’s 50th anniversary, he expresses surprise and pride at how hip hop continuously changes and influences societies worldwide.
  • Quote (09:31):
    • “It’s amazing that we’ve had so much hip hop... There’s still countries around the world where somebody can make a rap, post it on YouTube, and it could affect elections and politics.” — Fab 5 Freddy
  • He sees the art form’s power to “say some things that can affect people” as its most impactful legacy.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Fab 5 Freddy on blending street art and fine art:

  • “It was sort of a manifesto as a way to explain and show people that we are artists and we are aware of the history of art and this connection to pop art.” (02:10)

• On inspiring hip hop’s crossover moment:

  • “Everybody’s Fly comes from what I told Blondie... it’s the opening part of the rap in ‘Rapture,’ actually.” (02:48)

• On the lasting power of hip hop:

  • “It’s amazing that we’ve had so much hip hop... There’s still countries around the world where somebody can make a rap, post it on YouTube, and it could affect elections and politics.” (09:31)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:38–02:25: Fab 5 Freddy’s beginnings in graffiti, transformation into art-as-statement
• 02:48–04:24: Bridging hip hop and punk/new wave, connection with Blondie
• 04:54–05:53: First gallery show in Rome, legitimizing graffiti as art
• 06:03–07:28: Making of Wild Style and film as a vehicle for hip hop culture
• 07:28–09:12: Creation and impact of Yo! MTV Raps on American and global pop culture
• 09:21–10:15: Reflections on hip hop’s worldwide influence today

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Episode Tone and Style

The episode remains celebratory, energetic, and reverent, using Freddy’s own words and vivid stories to illustrate the wild, collaborative, and innovative energy that propelled hip hop from an underground movement to an international phenomenon.

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Closing

“Everybody’s Fly, y’ all come on and get with Sam.” — Fab 5 Freddy (10:32)

The episode offers a passionate, behind-the-scenes portrait of a true hip hop pioneer, connecting the genre’s roots with its global resonance, and inviting listeners to explore those stories further in Everybody’s Fly.

Transcript

[Timbid Ermias]

Hello, I'm Timbid Ermias, and this is NPR's book of the Day. I have a deep love for hip hop. Some of my earliest memories involve me dancing to music videos on shows like Yo. MTV Raps. So I was very excited to learn that one of the hosts of that program, Fab 5 Freddy, has a new memoir out. It's called Everybody's Fly. Fab 5 Freddy is a pioneer of hip hop, having put his stamp on nearly all aspects of the culture. He was a teenager when the genre got its start and was a key part of helping make it mainstream. Fab 5 Freddy spoke with Adrienne Ma on All Things Considered about his life, hip hop and the artistic vision he brings to his work.

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[NPR Narrator]

Water is abundant. We take showers, fill our glasses and flush our toilets with it. But what if one morning you try to turn on the tap and nothing comes out? That is a reality that many people already face.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

For much of the world, normal is

[NPR Narrator]

what happens when our most vital resource runs out. Find out on Short Wave. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

As a young man In 1979, New York City, Fred Brathwaite dreamed of making his mark on the world, or more specifically, on the side of a subway car.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

New York graffiti was a thing that had been going on and developing, and the subways were one of the major platforms, if you will, no pun intended. And part of that time and a part of that, that like, just crazy explosion of teenage energy is at the core of it.

[NPR Narrator]

So one December night, he and a friend snuck into the yard where the subway trains were parked. And on the side of one car, they spray painted several giant Campbell soup cans. An homage to one of Fred's favorite artists, Andy Warhol.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

It was sort of a manifesto as a way to explain and show people that we are artists and we are aware of the history of art and this connection to pop art.

[NPR Narrator]

Now, that piece was short lived, washed

[Adrienne Ma]

away by the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

[NPR Narrator]

But that crazy explosion of teenage energy that stuck around. And Fred Brathwaite, better known today as Fab 5 Freddie, he played a huge role in bringing this budding culture to new audiences. And that's even before it became collectively known as hip hop. He connected creative people of all sorts. He introduced rappers and DJs to emerging

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

rock Bands like Blondie, Everybody's Fly comes from what I told Blondie. And it's the opening part of the rap in Rapture, actually. So that's, you know, Fab five Freddie told me Everybody's Fly Fab five Freddie told me Everybody's Fly DJ Spin and I said my mind.

[NPR Narrator]

He brought the dancing and the music to new audiences through tv, music videos and feature film. And he fought for critical respect for. For street artists like himself. The story of how he did all this is the focus of his new memoir, Everybody's Fly. When I spoke to him recently, I started by asking him what motivated him to take what were then underground art forms like graffiti, DJing, breaking and rapping, and surface them for more people.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

My main focus personally was, you know, being a painter, being an artist, and figuring out how do we navigate and get into this world? Which, you know, I didn't. I didn't go to, you know, an expensive art school and anything like that. But I felt confident that what was going on was something real, something raw. I was also looking at what was going on with the new wave and the punk scene, which was really shaking up, like, you know, what the rock and roll scene had been. And these bands like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Ramones, Blondie. It was just this energy that was shaking it up. And so when I did connect with these people, it was incredible. It was just a lot of love. And they became, you know, like, became partners in crime, so to speak, and co conspirators and. Cause it was a similar energy.

[Adrienne Ma]

So graffiti writing was one of your early passions. And it started off, as you put it in a sort of vandalistic way, but then you sort of turn it into a business where people are paying you for your art, and then you get your art exhibited in Rome. What did it mean to you at the time to be getting this sort of attention for, I guess, what some might consider like a renegade art form?

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Yeah, well, I was blown away. I mean, I had connected with people, and that was some of the first publicity that we got. It was a piece in the Village Voice about us as artists. It was me trying to say, here's who we are, here's what we're doing, and our services are available. You can commission us to do a mur for $5 a square foot. So it was like an affordable way to engage with people. And this Italian art dealer from a very prestigious gallery, Galleria La Medusa in Rome, he had been coming to New York, seeing the graffiti and thinking similar things like this Is an amazing form of expression. Like what? Oh, and then he was able to connect and reached out to us. And so it was really kind of surprising that it would be a gallery, like in Europe, you know, like with a renaissance or Italy, specifically, where the renaissance was actually born. Would get this and want to show us. It was incredible. Amazing.

[Adrienne Ma]

Jumping forward in time a little bit. Another way that you raised the visibility of hip hop culture was through a film that you conceived and helped produce called Wild Style.

[Graffiti Writer (Unnamed)]

Graffiti writers. Taking the chances and taking the risk, taking, like all the arguments being transferred from the police, from your own moms. Ah, you're vandalizing all those trains.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Yes.

[Adrienne Ma]

This was released in the early 80s, and it features sort of all of the foundational elements of hip hop culture. Graffiti, DJing, rapping. Can you talk about why it was important to you to get that film made?

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Well, in the course of trying to paint the picture of this vision that I had, if you will, one of the best ways to do it would be to make a film. And while working with Lee Quinones and really beginning to put these initial ideas in place to really showcase who we really are.

[Adrienne Ma]

And Lee, he was a graffiti writer and a good friend of yours?

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Well, yeah, he was the most important graffiti artist in New York City. And I connected with him, reached out, found him. It was a crazy story that I detail. He actually thinks I'm the police coming to bust him. Maybe because I show up. I just felt like a film would be a great way to tell our story. And I was able to connect with a filmmaker that made that happen. And it was just great that other people went and saw all of this and understood it. Of course, our target audience knew, but it was remarkable how well it translated around the world. It was just mind blowing.

[Adrienne Ma]

Of course, it didn't stop with that. You continue to sort of earn your hip hop ambassador credentials when you become the host of Yo. MTV Raps Fab 5 Freddy.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

And you're watching my show, Yo. MTV Rap. I got something that was. Wow.

[Adrienne Ma]

The. The first nationally televised show dedicated to hip hop. And just to give some context to this time period when Yo. MTV Raps debuts. It's around 1988. Yeah. Like, how did you see your role as the host of Yo. MTV Raps?

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

When I got asked to do that, they actually asked me, you know, the producer, who actually was a good friend, he said, well, how would you want to do it? I said, well, I don't want to be cooped up in that studio if I want to be able to connect with the artists in the street, in their basement, wherever they're making their music. And so that became, like, the way we would do the show. I would travel, go to other cities, other, you know, go to South Central and interview NWA for the first time, or Luke in Miami, or Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, you know, Will Smith in Philly. And that just worked. I mean, when the show debuted, MTV thought that the Nielsen system was broken because it worked through so effectively, and it just was crazy. So this is when radio wasn't even playing this music.

[Adrienne Ma]

You're saying when MTV Raps came on, the radio wasn't really playing?

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

No, that's what I mean. So the show had an incredible impact, and that helped more people jump on board, actually, and demand their mtv. It was funny. So I remember Ice T telling me how he knew about people in neighborhoods that were like, man, I need my mtv. I gotta see this show.

[Adrienne Ma]

Ice T, the rapper. I assume not. Iced tea, the drink.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Ice T the rapper, the actor and rapper from Los Angeles.

[Adrienne Ma]

Okay. As a pioneer of hip hop culture, I am really curious to hear your thoughts on the current state of hip hop.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

It's amazing that we've had so much hip hop. Literally just a couple of years ago was the 50th anniversary, so to speak. I'm still surprised and amazed at the different ways the culture still exists and mutates. It's definitely not gonna be like what it was. And I'm kind of cool with that. I mean, there's still countries around the world where somebody can make a rap, post it on YouTube, and it could affect elections and politics in these different countries. Those stories are so fascinating that people use the form to. In its truest. In its most impactful way, is to really say some things that can affect people. That blows me away.

[Adrienne Ma]

Well, there you go. Fab Five Freddy, pioneer of hip hop, still voraciously consuming the culture. And you can read more about it in his new memoir, Everybody's Fly. Fab Five, Triple F. Thank you for taking the time.

[Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite)]

Thanks so much for having me, man. It was a blast. Everybody's Fly, y' all come on and get with Sam.