Jean Michel Basquiat, an artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement, died on this day in 1988 at the age of 27. Though this isn’t a music photo, Basquiat had roots in the burgeoning New York hip-hop scene, having first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al Diaz, writing enigmatic epigrams in the cultural hotbed of Manhattan's Lower East Side during the late 1970s, where rap, punk, and street art coalesced into early hip-hop music culture. He came about when everyone was coexisting together, musicians and artists. Basquiat was frequenting New York venues such as the Mudd Club in TriBeCa where punk, no wave, avant garde experimental music, and hip-hop were mixing to create new hybrid forms. He had a way of taking inspiration from music and working it into his art. Basquiat eventually amassed a collection of more than 3,000 albums spanning from blues, classical, soul and disco. He also made his own music: as the leader of Gray, an experimental art noise quartet, as well as the producer of the single “Beat Bop”; and as a D.J. He was a huge influence in me coming to NYC and is a constant inspiration throughout my art. He is missed Here he is outside his Great Jones studio in 1983. Sadly, this is where he would later die. 📸 by Andy Warhol (?) #basquiat #jeanmichelbasquiat @basquiatofficial @basquiatkingpleasure