Sara Driver’s exploration of the pre-fame years of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, offers a window into his life and the City of New York, 1978-81, illustrating how the city, the times and the people around him informed the artist he became and shaped his vision. A fresh perspective on the movements that touched and inspired him, as well as the influence a bankrupt, violent city had on this seminal artist, the film shows how Basquiat has become, over the years, the ultimate representation of this period, fed by its politics, the rise of both hip-hop and punk rock, race issues and the art scene itself.