Although predominantly involved in film and video art production, he is also known for his work as an author, freelance writer, member of Colab, and radio host.
In 1977, he went to the Alfred E. Smith Projects in the Lower East Side to film local youths practising martial arts with his Super 8 camera, which exposed him to hip-hop for the first time.
[6] In the summer of 1980, Ahearn began working with Fred Braithwaite and Lee Quiñones on what was later to become a classic hip-hop feature-length film: Wild Style.
[9] The highly successful soundtrack of the film, which was composed entirely from scratch to avoid copyright clearances, was produced by Fred Braithwaite, in collaboration with Chris Stein of chart-topping rock act Blondie.
In 2005, Ahearn hosted a weekly talk-music internet radio show on New York's Museum of Modern Art's WPS1.org called Yes Yes, Y'all, with guests such as Biz Markie, Afrika Bambaataa, Rammellzee, Grandmaster Caz, and many more hip-hop icons from 1970 to 1990.