John Michelle Basquiat's art is some of the most recognizable and sort after of the last

50 years, but compared to his contemporaries, Basquiat is often less accessible.

So when Basquiat's family put together a public exhibition called King Pleasure with some

of the art displayed for the first time, crowds flock to New York City for a glimpse of

his genius.

Now as King Pleasure hits the Los Angeles later this month, we're bringing you our episode

of last year on the Man Behind the Art and Legacy Behind the Man.

I have never to this day met anybody to compare to John Michelle Basquiat.

He tore a page out of Malcolm X by any means necessary.

He was determined to become an artist no matter what that meant to get there.

Whether it was his music, whether it was his performance, whether it was the way he danced,

whether it was the way he dressed, whether it was the way he spoke, whether it was the way

he groomed his hair.

You can see it all in his art and you feel it radiating out from his work.

When you were with him, you felt special because he was in the moment with you.

There was a sense of self-containment and confidence and vision that came out of his face and

came out of his eyes that was spellbinding.

John Michelle Basquiat is one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century known

for his bold, arresting, oftentimes cryptic paintings.

He drew inspiration from world history, sports and jazz, his own sense of blackness and

Caribbean heritage to say something about society and his shifting, evolving place within

it.

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