Basquiat University

Michael Holman is an unsung, modern day superhero. He was one of the few that helped take the different elements of Hip Hop from the South Bronx to Downtown Manhattan in the late 70s/early 80s. This was not only important to the development of what would later become known as Hip Hop but to music in general (i.e. Blondie, Bow Wow Wow, etc.). If you're reading this you probably are already familiar with "Graffiti Rock", "Downtown 81", and the like.

Topics include epiphanies, spitting on Johnny Rotten, how he met Jean Michel Basquiat and the forming of Gray, meeting Malcolm Mclaren and taking him to the South Bronx River Projects to introduce him to Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay, and how Mclaren reacted to being put into that environment, which is exceptionally hilarious.

I can personally relate to this section of the interview. Everyone that knows me personally knows that the combination of my curiosity and love of music has put me in similar situations. Catching mass transit and walking for miles in the middle of the night through the grimiest of American ghettos/hoods just to go to a party or buy records is not something I would recommend to the general public.



Here Holman toots his own horn (as he should) and promotes the 30th anniversary of "Graffiti Rock".



Visit his Kickstarter page where you can purchase DVDs, vinyl, tshirts, etc. There's also an interview with actress Debi Mazar (Entourgage, Goodfellas, Law & Order) on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where she talks "Graffiti Rock". Apparently she was a hard core Hip Hop fanatic in the pre Hip Hop coined Hip Hop days.

And lastly here is Michael Holman on youtube.