Artist, rapper, composer and television host, Fab 5 Freddy, whose given name is Fred Brathwaite, will be in conversation with author and music critic Greg Tate April 8 at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn in conjunction with Brathwaite’s new art exhibition, “Afro-Greco,” which has been showing since March 12 and will continue to be shown in the gallery until April 23.
Pioneer Works described the exhibition as, “emblematic of Fab’s current practice, which he likens to the term ‘abstract remix.’”
The description continued, “The paintings bridge Fab’s roots in graffiti with things that appeal to him visually at any given time, and are each comprised of appropriated fragments that he photographed, digitally dismembered and reconnected. While the backgrounds of some paintings represent classic markers of graffiti and hip-hop culture, others from his ‘Afro-Greco’ series are made up of relics such as Greek urns and African masks. This disparate imagery points to Fab’s radical message which began with him leading the way for artists rooted in graffiti to explore visual subjects beyond the ‘calligraffiti’ of their own tags, and points to his pivotal role in linking a hitherto underground scene to the forefront of popular culture and contemporary art.”
Tate and Freddy are priceless contributors and pioneers in New York’s hip-hop scene, as Tate is considered to be one of the “Grandfathers of hip-hop journalism,” authoring the groundbreaking anthology, “Flyboy in the Buttermilk” and its follow up, “Flyboy 2: A Greg Tate Reader,” along with other music books that are used as texts in universities as important pieces of works in African-American studies and music criticism.
Freddy, “in addition to making art, co-produced, starred in and composed the original music for the 1983 cult classic ‘Wild Style’ before becoming the first host of ‘Yo! MTV Raps.’”
Freddy and Tate in conversation is free to the public. For more information, visit www.pioneerworks.org.