Fab Five Freddy Told Me Everybody’s Fly

AN INTERVIEW WITH FAB FIVE FREDDY

Fab Five Freddy is always two steps ahead of the cultural moment. It’s why Blondie immortalized Fred Braithwaite in the 1981 single “The Rapture.” For five decades, Fab has been the original curator of cool in art, music and the cultural conversation. That savvy ability to see into the future was what made him a catalyst of New York’s uptown-downtown convergence, and the original host of Yo MTV Raps! He directed the documentary feature film ““Grass is Greener” about cannabis legislation, which is now available on Netflix. Fab knows a bit about everything — and cars are no exception. It makes sense that these days Fab drives an electric car — and is jazzed about the electrified future of transportation. 

Tell me one of your first car memories?

We didn't have a car for most of my childhood. But there was a nice stretch of time in the early 70s, where my dad had this four-door ’57 Chevy, minus power steering. I remember him getting a knob to fix the steering wheel, and holding that knob to use less energy.  On Sundays, my dad and my mom would drive to lower Manhattan and we would go to Katz’s. We would go to other kinds of stores in that area, you know have a hot dog and knish. There was this cheese store that had all these cheeses. 

My family was not a car family, except for that brief period where my dad had this older cool car. So typically it was not a big deal. You know, the bulk of families didn’t have cars because subways and mass transit were such a New York thing.

What do you drive?

I’m a car person, later in life, but it was over 20 years ago when I got into luxury. When the Mercedes CLK dropped, I had that for a good period of time. I wasn’t moved by too much until I became aware of electric cars on the horizon and the carbon and all the bad things we’d been doing to the environment.  I wanted something that was very appealing aesthetically, but also was practical in terms of energy. 

I started following Elon Musk and realized he wanted to do an affordable car and then that got developed, and there was all this excitement and hype. I jumped online, and waited three years for the car to finally be released. I’ve had the Tesla Model 3 now for about a year now. It’s been a very fun driving experience for me.  

I tell people it’s like the equivalent of how when the iphone came out, how it changed the way we approached our cell phones. I use that as a description of how innovative the car is, how fun it is to drive and knowing that I am not polluting. The only time I’ve been in the gas station in New York City was to get some air in the tires. All of this data comes up on the big screen on the minimal dash. It’s so much fun you get the software download of some new features. When the car is parked I can watch Netflix, Hulu and Youtube. I didn’t get the self-driving capability yet.  I had a 30 day trial of it yet, but the ability to self-drive is part of why the car has been rated one of the safest cars on the road, because it has all these cameras and sensors and you get to see all this information. When you’re driving that’s an extra warning. 

I've always been into racing cars, model kits, Speed Racer, dragsters from Funny Cars to Pro Stock. I used to put models together as a kid. I had slot car sets. I love car video games now, Gran Turismo and Forza. I’m a big F1 fan now. I went to the Grand Prix in Austin twice. I had paddock passes. Timmy, my godson became very close friends with Lewis Hamilton.  I met Lewis’s dad. It was super cool. 

Hot Wheels, Hot Rod Magazine, I was always into that culture. In fact today, because we’re in quarantine, I’ve been watching these simulated car races. You have actual F1 drivers that are driving in the simulated races to practice on, like pilots do. 

 What is your dream car?

I think of some kind of cool classic car.  You know what, it’s the Batmobile back from the ’70s original show. It takes me back to my childhood. It was so cool just to see all of those little gadgets and watch how the car transforms into something else that is so cool, then it turns into something even cooler. George Barris. I’d like a collection of those babies. 

What is the best place to drive?

Up and down the PCH because it’s unbelievable dynamically scenic, driving along ocean cliffs, amazing views. It is breathtaking. The famous stretch that’s used for car commercials is as good as it looks. 

What is the best color for the interior of a car?

I’m relatively subdued. My Mercedes was black.  But the way they wrap those cars with some of those cool metallic looks that’s a cool idea.

When you are in the car what are you listening to?

Because my other car was very old, it didn’t have bluetooth connectivity, when I got in the Tesla it took me into the the future. I can listen to podcasts on my phone and can still listen to things happening live. Spotify plays through literally one of the most amazing sound experience I’ve ever had, short of being in a full-on recording studio. The Tesla has a 10 speaker well balanced system, subwoofers, the whole shit. Its one of the standout things along with the torque that snaps your next back with a quick tap of the damn thing. The sound system is so good that certain records elicit and emotional response. It’s like me discovering these apps for the first time. 

Is there one story that really stands out to you, while you were driving?

I did not really start driving until later in my life, like late mid 90s. I was in LA in the 90s, which turned out to be a whole summer long trip. I was the process of making Snoop Dogg’s first video. My friend who was also kind of like an assistant slash driver had a Range Rover before they were really popular among cool African Americans. It was a cool stand out car, with all this room. My buddy just drove me everywhere. He knew LA like the back of his hand. It was an interesting time, where I got to see LA better than I’d ever seen it. This is a guy I met through Jean-Michael. He had great weed and Jean and I used to smoke our cannabis. Doing LA then was a memorable thing.

When this is over where do you want to go?

I’d like to go Europe on the car tip. I want to do a serious drive across the Italia Strada in a very tuned up Italian car. You know, just driving over those mountains and seeing the scenery, it is so cool to see and feel that landscape. It is beautiful scenery and very relaxing going around those smooth turns.