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The Almanac of Rap

Graffiti Rock feat. Michael Holman

5/14/202655 min

Before hip-hop became a billion-dollar industry, it was a living culture being built in clubs, parks, train yards, and downtown art spaces across New York City.

This week on The Almanac of Rap, Donwill sits down with writer, filmmaker, musician, and Graffiti Rock creator Michael Holman to unpack the early days of hip-hop culture and the movement that brought its four elements to a national audience for the first time.

Holman reflects on working alongside pioneers like Fab Five Freddy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martha Cooper, and Henry Chalfant, while helping shape the downtown New York scene...

Clips

How Breaking Changed Hands
Downtown Invented The Four-Element Show
When Rap Became Hip-Hop
Nobody Believed Hip-Hop TV
Pay-To-Play Killed The Deal
Basquiat, Gray, And A Pivot
Casting For A Mixed America

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

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