Pronunciation of

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American painter and graffiti artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, and was a very close friend of Andy Warhol.
Although Basquiat died young, he was a leading neo-expressionist. His work focused on social criticism of existing power structures and race relations, as well as combating colonialism and embracing class struggle.
Basquiat's father was from Haiti, which was a French colony. Due to his origins, the name Jean-Michel Basquiat is a French name and is pronounced in French even if Basquiat was American.
In French, the correct pronunciation of Jean-Michel Basquiat is Szohn Mee-shell Bah-skee-ah.
In Basquiat, the "a" is pronounced as "ah", followed by -squi, which is pronounced like the word "ski". The final syllable, -at, is pronounced as "ah".
The beginning of his first name, Jean, the "J" is pronounced like the "s" in "vision", followed by a short "o" or "oh" and a nasal "n", which sounds like an abbreviated "n".
The second part of his name, Michel, is pronounced like the word "me" and then the word "shell".