The Last Living Hollywood African

When Jean-Michel Basquiat died at age 27 of a heroin overdose, the art world had already hoisted him to the pinnacle of genius. Many perceived him as an iconoclastic lone wolf clawing out a revolutionary new niche in contemporary art. But Basquiat was in fact, the avatar of a small army of underground writers, painters, musicians, DJ's and dancers that took New York City by storm and transformed American culture. Two high-ranking generals and compatriots in Basquiat's art-damaged army were Rammellzee, and Toxic. Basquiat ordained this holy trinity the "Hollywood Africans" in a series of some of his most provocative paintings. While Basquiat and Rammellzee left behind an arsenal of weaponized artwork with their passing, Toxic continues to carry out the mission of their collective creative visions. Toxic is the last living Hollywood African.