Robert “3D” Del Naja started out as a graffiti artist (he was an influence on Banksy’s formative years) and was also member of “The Wild Bunch” a sound system collective formed in Bristol during the 1980s. The collective was”a confluence of hip-hop DJs, sound-system operators and graffiti artists partly inspired by, and not dissimilar to, the late 70s New York hip-hop scene that spawned Jean-Michel Basquait.”
Del Naja is similar to the likes of Basquait and Haring in the way that they all started out painting the walls on the street, only to find themselves on the walls of galleries.It was from this collective that the hugely influential group Massive Attack emerged, the three founding members being Del Naja, Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall. The group has been hugely influential and their 1991 album, Blue Lines has been “credited with revitalizing British dance music,” the seminal debut album creating a distinctive sound that became regularly imitated.
Del Naja was a graffiti artist before becoming a producer and vocalist, and was featured in the 1987 book Spraycan Art by Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff and in the 1988 film Bombin', directed by Dick Fontaine, alongside fellow artist and future drum and bass pioneer Goldie.
Del Naja is credited as being the first graffiti artist in Bristol. He is regarded as the pioneer of the stencil graffiti movement and one of those who brought hip hop and graffiti culture from the United States to Bristol in the early 1980s. He has previously been the subject of speculation that he is anonymous artist Banksy.
Del Naja's work has been featured on all of Massive Attack's record sleeves.