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| Holman by Arne Svensen |
Michael Holman - he of the band Gray, associate of Jean Michel Basquiat, and general scenemaker on the downtown scene of early 80's NYC - has something else he'd like you to know about, and its worth a look. He was one of the earlier promoters of hip hop & graffiti culture in New York. Not only did he do a lot to bring hip hop downtown (literally), he also conceived of and hosted a short lived, but nevertheless influential TV show, Graffiti Rock. Not unlike American Bandstand or Soul Train in format, its difficult to imagine now that Graffiti Rock was absolutely groundbreaking at the time as hip hop was incredibly new as a genre. And besides the almost novelty hit status of "Rapper's Delight" in 1979, the genre was a long way from being socially acceptable.
It turns out that 2014 will be the 30th anniversary of the show, and to celebrate, Holman is working on a retrospective collection of the show and related materials to release. He's also working on a documentary about the show, and hip hop culture at the time which will be packaged together with the Graffiti Rock collection. Watch the video below, and if you're so inclined, donate to his Kickstarter.
Added bonus - watch the episode of Graffiti Rock below the Kickstarter video.
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| The New York City Breakers on the set of Graffiti Rock. Shot by Martha Cooper. |
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