British DJ Goldie may have let slip a huge clue as to who the real identity of graffiti artist Banksy is. During a recent interview Goldie was quoted as saying
"For something like graffiti, which has inspired the world with font or anything to do with anyone wearing a baseball cap and sneakers, at its centre it is still misunderstood.
"But 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 Rob, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over."
So who is this Rob that he speaks of? Presumably that would be the real name of the anonymous artist.
It could refer to Robert Del Naja, a founding member of the band Massive attack. Del Naja has been rumored to be the real person behind Banksy in the past. Del Naja is a former graffiti artist who's artistic style resembles that of Banksy's. And the tour locations of Massive Attack have been linked to locations of Banksy's street art.
But that is not case closed. The "Rob" that Goldie referred to could also mean Robin Gunningham, another person suspected of being the real Banksy. In 2008 researchers at Queen Mary University of London identified Gunningham as Banksy by studying his "geoprofile". The locations of Banksy street art around London and Bristol were highly correlated with known places where Gunningham has lived or frequently visited.