Everybody's Fly

“Read Freddy’s book. You might become smarter, sexier, cooler, hipper, more stylish, and get more out of life—if you’re lucky!”
—Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie and author of Face It

“Fab 5 Freddy comes out of Brooklyn at a pivotal moment for art, politics, music, and culture. From Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ to Wild Style and the birth of loud sound systems, new DJs, and new genres, he had a front-row seat—and was involved. He’s a father of the art form, a pure artist, pioneer, and historian who helped shape, cultivate, and nurture it all in hip-hop, from graffiti to movies and television. He’s better than a myth—he’s real. Let’s all appreciate his story.”
—Nas, rapper and entrepreneur

“What blazes through the captivating, fast-moving memoir Everybody’s Fly is that Fab 5 Freddy does not play. . . . [I]t’s almost comical how many pivotal moments Fab is responsible for: He jets off to Italy as part of “the first international gallery show” dedicated to graffiti art, recommends the Funky Four Plus One to be the first rap group to appear on “Saturday Night Live,” even plays a critical role in establishing “hip-hop” as the umbrella term for the emerging culture. . . . [P]lain-spoken, no-nonsense, with a feel for the speed and action of the time. Fab’s story is also a reminder that cultural transformation doesn’t just happen—that hip-hop’s radical energy, creativity and perspective also required leaders with the dreams and determination to push it forward, often in the face of resistance to art that was so Black and so strong.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“To tell the story of Fab 5 Freddy—the ceaseless creative polymath, train-tagging graffiti misfit, renowned gallery artist, sample-inspiring rapper, charismatic TV host, global ambassador, restless bon vivant, socially conscious director, and connector of ostensibly disparate scenes — is to tell the story of hip-hop itself. . . . But more than a personal memoir, Everybody’s Fly could comfortably sit alongside books by Richard Price, Lucy Sante, Tom Wolfe, or Ed McBain, chronicling New York from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s with both vivid, journalistic descriptions and the outsized flair from a person who was at the center of it all.”
—Rolling Stone

“An exuberant recounting of how a culturally omnivorous kid from Brooklyn willed himself into the wider, shinier world—like Moss Hart’s Act One, but with beatboxing and cans of Krylon spray paint.”
—The New Yorker

“Reading Everybody’s Fly . . . you’re struck by the author’s remarkable instinct for connecting the cultural dots of the late 20th century. The book also asks you to reflect on what it was like to get in on the ground floor of hip-hop, decades before it became a global commercial force.”
—The Boston Globe

“If you trace the arc of hip-hop, rock, visual art, television, and performance across the decades, Fab 5 Freddy has figured in all of it: He is a connector, a luminous, ever-present character. In his smart, thoughtful memoir, he brings the reader along as he centers himself in the thick of popular culture as both participant and observer. The book is an engrossing, intimate portrait of a fascinating man and of an indelible cultural moment.”
—Susan Orlean, author of Joyride

“Fred is like a wise old oak whose leaves absorbed the light and sounds of New York’s gritty streets and then chlorophylled the city with his art, music, cinema, and boundless energy. Everybody’s Fly is proof that the influence he has on our culture is rooted everywhere you look.”
—Griffin Dunne, actor, director, and author of The Friday Afternoon Club

“The man who lived it right and exact has taken the time to give it back. Fab 5 Freddy has served as one of our cultural pillars for hip-hop and the art scene for decades. An early pioneer of blending both of these cultures in their infancy, his memoir shines a light on how adventurous aspiration and diverse inspirations can lead to images and voices that help evolve a generation.”
—RZA, producer, director, and founding member of Wu-Tang Clan

“In the world of art, music, and style, Everybody’s Fly is a sonic sign of life. The groove here is that Fred was the thread and needle of Even Lower Manhattan.”
—Richard Prince, fine artist

“A backstage pass to NYC’s new wave hip hop scene.”
—NPR

“At once an intimate personal narrative and a panoramic cultural history of NYC bohemia from the ’70s through the ’80s, with a cast that includes Brathwaite’s comrades and collaborators from Blondie to Basquiat. The book traces a journey of creativity and friendship that culminates in Brathwaite (whom Grandmaster Flash called the “town crier” of hip-hop) hosting Yo! MTV Raps, which blasted this new culture from coast to coast.”
—Town & Country

“A fascinating and page-turning chronicle of a righteous life lived at a grand scale.”
—Vogue

“Fred Brathwaite aka Fab 5 Freddy tells his story with Everybody’s Fly (a reference to the first line of Blondie’s “Rapture,” of course). The legendary artist has stood at the center of pivotal moments in pop culture with a unique gift for translating his message to the masses. As a pioneer of graffiti and hip hop—and their intersection with fashion and film—Freddy has been both a catalyst and a connector, working with fellow artists like Basquiat, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and the Clash during the height of the new wave. Everybody’s Fly is a journey through that time.”
—W Magazine, The Must-Read Nonfiction Books of 2026

“Perhaps hip-hop’s first Renaissance man, book author is a title that eluded Freddy for decades because he was too busy making things worth writing about.”
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Everybody’s Fly is a portrait of a melting-pot downtown art scene of Black and white, fine art and street art, MTV and Max Roach. Brathwaite moved in circles of unprecedented creativity, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Mapplethorpe, Grandmaster Flash and many more. But despite his outsized influence (he brought rap out of the boroughs and into suburban living rooms as the host of “Yo! MTV Raps”), Fab 5 Freddy has never gotten all the credit he deserves or the space to tell his countless stories. Everything’s Fly should make that right.”
—Salon

“Everybody’s Fly is a highly readable, smartly paced recounting of the career trajectory of an artist whose talent, imagination and ambition ultimately produced the ambassador of a global cultural phenomenon. As hip-hop evolved from a New York borough-based, underground, subcultural movement encompassing graffiti art, break dancing, music production and fashion, Fab 5 Freddy was either adjacent to or central to the process at nearly every pivotal point.”
—ArtsATL

“Freddy offers an impassioned, engaging account of the influential 1980s New York art world and the emergence of hip-hop culture that will appeal to anyone interested in today’s popular culture.”
—Library Journal, starred review

“A rollicking memoir of the downtown art and music scenes of 1970s and ’80s New York City . . . For readers interested in the birth of hip-hop, this is a must.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A crucial figure in hip-hop’s development recalls its (and his) evolution. . . . A fine snapshot of a pivotal moment for street—and American—culture. A rich, gritty remembrance of an artist’s journey.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review