His rapping style fascinated Jean-Michel Basquiat, who produced him, designed the cover of his single Beat Bop (1983), and even painted his portrait. He appeared, along with his music, in the revered documentaries on the early hip-hop movement in the United States, Style Wars and Wild Style, in 1983. He participated in the collective exhibition New York/New Wave at MoMA PS1 in 1981. In 1982, he was part of the New York City Rap Tour world tour. Jim Jarmusch gave him a scene in Stranger Than Paradise, in 1984, the year he was invited to perform for Valentino's 25th-anniversary show at Milan Fashion Week. Rammellzee (1960-2010) flew through the 1980s like a comet before disappearing from the radar.
"He is an artist both iconic and unknown, mythicized and misunderstood. And it is a true omission in the writing of art history," said Hugo Vitrani, curator, along with Cédric Fauq, of a dual exhibition in France, first at the Palais de Tokyo in 2025, and later at the CAPC Musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux in 2026. This two-part retrospective, the largest of its kind in Europe, offers a museum homage to a visionary and unclassifiable artist, finally showcasing the breadth of his impact.
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