Phat Free is the only video produced by African American artist David Hammons over the course of his career. The work consists of a nighttime journey, accompanied by the sounds that leave their mark on different parts of New York City. Phat Free begins with a black screen, giving rise to the metal crunching of a single can kicked by the artist, creating intermittent rhythms that blend with street noise and conversations.
The title of this video is a play on words that references Pretty, Hot and Tempting (P.H.A.T.), African American slang from the 1980s and 90s that meant sexy or cool, but was also used to refer to urban genres such as rap or hip-hop that present powerful drops in rhythm or very low bass lines.
