Jean-Michel Basquiat appeared at the very end of the 1970s in the trendy clubs of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where the first truly urban music styles were being invented: no-wave and, above all, hip-hop. Music deconstructed, using collage, sampling and syncopation, with which his paintings present obvious analogies. All music inhabits the studio and works of this compulsive and eclectic music lover, whose collection of more than 3000 records mixes styles - from classical to rock, Louisiana zydeco, soul, new wave and, above all, jazz - and who listens to music constantly while he works.

His paintings thus abound in references to the history of music, in particular to classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart...) and jazz. References that are not only quotes, but which often also participate in a strategy of affirmation of his African-American roots, as evidenced in particular by the cult he devotes to the blues and be-bop, and in particular to the figure of Charlie Parker.