Like his heroes musicians Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, African American artist Basquiat (1960-1988) was considered a creative genius and died young of a drug overdose. A veteran observer of the New York art scene traces his rise from troubled NY subway graffiti tagger to friend of Andy Warhol and iconic New York Times Magazine cover image in 1985. Fretz also discusses his legacy as a major contemporary artist. The biography includes a timeline of events in Basquiat's life, sources, and a list of his works. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)