Who is Robert Del Naja? Massive Attack founding member and former graffiti artist ‘outed’ as Banksy by DJ Goldie
ROBERT Del Naja is already a legend in the eyes of Massive Attack fans, but now there's major speculation that the former graffiti wizard is in fact the subversive street artist Banksy.
Rapper Goldie seems to have outed him on a podcast — but what do we know about the musician, and could he really be Banksy, secret street sprayer working undercover for 20 years?
Who is Robert Del Naja, how old is he and what's his background?
Robert Del Naja is a 52-year-old artist, activist and singer-songwriter, born in Bristol on January 21, 1965.
Best-known as the founding and lead member of trip hop group Massive Attack, the talented musician has provided tracks for movies including The Matrix, Moulin Rouge and Batman Forever.
Robert spent his youth as a member of Bristolian musician and DJ collective The Wild Bunch.
But before becoming a vocalist he was perfecting his street art skills — pioneering the now-ubiquitous stencil effect associated with Banksy — and he subsequently became known as the first graffiti artist in Bristol.
He later formed Massive Attack in 1987 with his fellow Wild Bunch members Grant Marshall and Andrew Vowles.
What is Massive Attack and how is Robert Del Naja involved?
Similar to Portishead, who are also from Bristol, Robert's band Massive Attack produce genre-melding, psychedelic tunes, perhaps most accurately defined as a mix of hip hop and electronica.
Their best-known tracks include Teardrop, Unfinished Sympathy and Paradise Circus.
In 1996 they won a Brit, and have also won two Q Awards in 1998 and 2008 respectively, while their videos for Teardrop and Protection have picked up gongs from MTV.
Their live sets are characterised by eye-popping displays, often including anti-establishment slogans.
When has Robert Del Naja said about his art and when did people start thinking he might be Banksy?
Robert's first solo show ran in London in June 2010, though he'd already collaborated on several exhibitions, as well as masterminding all of Massive Attack's artwork and live shows.
He said at the time: "Painting is difficult for me because I'm colour blind. Back in the day, I had to label my spray cans with what colour they were because I couldn't tell.
"It's like the emperor's new clothes: [people] telling me it's great, and me pretending that's what I intended."
Speculation about politically-motivated spray can wizard Robert being Banksy began in 2013, during his second solo exhibition, which spanned 20 years of his work.
What has Goldie said about Robert Del Naja being Banksy?
In June 2017, Goldie — who himself was a street artist before hitting the big time as a rapper — appeared to out Robert, suggesting his old pal and rival was in fact Banksy.
During a podcast interview, he said: “Give me a bubble letter and put it on a t-shirt and write ‘Banksy’ on it and we’re sorted. We can sell it now.
“No disrespect to Robert, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over.”
After a pause, Goldie continued with the interview, changing the subject abruptly.
Robert's agent has refused to confirm or deny whether the musician is Banksy.
In 2016 one clever-clogs claimed to have proved Robert is Banksy by cross-referencing Massive Attack tour dates with Banksy's movements.
However, there is another prime suspect still in the running — Robin Cunningham, a former public school boy who was apparently tracked using "geographical profiling".
