Part 25 in a series on “The 27’s” – notable musicians who have passed away in their 27th year.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was more known as an artist than a musician. He was born in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the first of three children to Matilde and Gerard Basquiat. His mother was a Puerto Rican and his father was a Haitian immigrant to the United States. At an early age, Basquiat displayed an aptitude for art, and was encouraged by his mother to draw, paint, and to participate in other artistic activities.
When Basquiat was seven years old, his parents divorced and his mother suffered severe bouts of bipolar disorder due to the separation. She was deemed unfit to care for children, so Basquiat and his younger sisters, Lisane and Jeanine, were raised by their father in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father was alleged to be a violent alcoholic, and Basquiat would later claim that he endured physical and emotional abuse by his father.
When Basquiat was 15 years old, he ran away from home in order to escape his father. He slept on park benches in Washington Square Park, supported himself by panhandling, drug dealing, selling T-shirts and homemade post cards, and working in the Unique Clothing Warehouse in the West Broadway district of Manhattan. Searching for a home, Basquiat was legally adopted by a friend's parents as he refused to be returned to the care of his father.
While a high school student, Basquiat and Al Diaz started spray-painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan, working under the pseudonym SAMO. The designs inscribed messages such as "Plush safe he think.. SAMO" and "SAMO as an escape clause.” In December 1978, the Village Voice published an article on the graffiti. The SAMO project ended with the epitaph "SAMO IS DEAD," inscribed on the walls of SoHo buildings.
In the late 1970s, Basquiat formed the punk rock band Gray with Vincent Gallo, Shannon Dawson, Michael Holman, Nick Taylor and Wayne Clifford. Gray performed at nightclubs such as Max's Kansas City, CBGB, Hurrah, and the Mudd Club. Basquiat starred in an underground film Downtown 81 which featured some of Gray's recordings on its soundtrack.
In June 1980, Basquiat participated in The Times Square Show, a multi-artist exhibition, sponsored by Collaborative Projects Incorporated and Fashion Moda. In 1981, Rene Ricard published "The Radiant Child" in Artforum magazine, which brought Basquiat to the attention of the wider art world. He briefly dated then-aspiring performer Madonna in September 1982. That same year, Basquiat met Andy Warhol, with whom he collaborated from 1984 to 1986. He was also briefly involved with artist David Bowie.He was a successful artist in this period, however increasing drug addiction began to interfere with his personal relationships.
After Warhol died on February 22, 1987, Basquiat became increasingly isolated, and his drug addiction and depression increased. After an attempt at sobriety during a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, Basquiat died due to a heroin overdose in his SoHo studio on August 12, 1988.
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