There’s been long-running speculation surrounding the name or names behind the global street art pioneer who goes by the name of Banksy, but if a slip of the tongue from DJ Goldie is anything to go by, recent intel connecting to artist with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja aka 3D may have been right on the money.
The Daily Mail ran a report last year pointing out a number of things that suggested that the artist was either a Del Naja himself, or even a ring of artists led by the Massive Attack member, noting that the band’s tour dates lined up nicely with the artist’s work appearing around the world.
Now, in an interview with U.K. rapper Scroobius Pip’s Distraction Pieces podcast, iconic DJ Goldie was discussing the state of graffiti when he brought up Banksy’s work. During the discussion, he let slip the name ‘Rob’ or ‘Robert’ before quickly changing the topic, fueling the fire that Banksy is, in fact, Robert Del Naja.
“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.” he began, before adding “No disrespect to Rob (or Robert), I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over.”
As the NME points out, the name may also be in reference to Bristol’s Robin Gunningham, who many have speculated is the true face behind Banksy, but the popular theory seems to have shifted towards Del Naja over the last year, especially considering the band played at a recent Banksy exhibition.
Regardless, one of the best-kept secrets in the art world may just be unraveling before our eyes – you can listen to the chat below.
Whoops. Goldie might have outed Banksy as “Robert” (Del Naja) on a podcast. Fast-forward to 34 mins here https://t.co/wtL1vPKHBg.
— Kosso 🌀 (@kosso) June 22, 2017