Hollywood Africans portrays Basquiat alongside fellow artists Toxic and Rammellzee. Painted while the trio was visiting Los Angeles, the work speaks to Basquiat's interest in film history and his ability to layer references, also a trademark technique of hip-hop lyricism. Peppered throughout the canvas, notations such as 鈥渢obacco,鈥 鈥渟ugar cane鈥 and 鈥済angsterism鈥 allude to the limited roles given to Black artists in both Hollywood and real life. At the top, Basquiat drew a mummy figurine/Oscar statuette and nearby wrote 鈥1940鈥濃攖he year that Hattie McDaniel became the first Black performer to receive an Academy Award. On the bottom, he included his signature crown鈥攍inked to graffiti writers鈥 practice of designating the king of a train line.