Grandmaster Flash and The Furious FIve
formed in the South Bronx of NYC in 1978
Members
Grandmaster Flash
Keef Cowboy
Melle Mel
The Kidd Creole
Mr. Ness/Scorpio
Rahiem
Some of our picks from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in the early 80s
superrappin’ - 1979
Their debut single released the same year as “Rappers Delight.”
freedom - 1980
Originally a beat by the band Freedom from “Get Up and Dance.” Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five joined Sugarhill Records around the time of its release.
it’s nasty - 1982
An amazing song by the Tom Tom Club turned into a hip hop staple by the magic of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Also uses the party kazoo beat from Freedom. The title is partially based off the backlash Hip Hop received in the early days of its birth.
scorpio - 1982
An electro hit in the early days of the genre. Quite possibly one of the best vocoder club hits of all time not just the early 80s.
The message - 1982
Not enough can be said for this classic. It inspired countless artists like Ice Cube to begin a career in hip hop. It not only changed people but hip hop itself. Bringing a voice to social issues it is the start of political hip hop.
White lines (long version) - 1983
Yet another hit by GMF5 with a powerful message. They were no strangers to using music as a positive force even against the cocaine snowstorm of the 80s. They did however take this from the song “Caverns” from a previously unknown band called Liquid Liquid that still receives notoriety because of the song. Sugarhill Records eventually ran into legal trouble from it.
Did you know this about grandmster flash and the furious five?
Grandmaster Flash, Joseph Saddler, was born in Barbados in 1958.
Area dances and block parties are where he began spinning in his teens.
Back Spinning, cutting, and phasing are the innovative techniques developed by Grandmaster Flash and still used by DJs today.
He started working with rappers around 1977, one of the first being Kurtis Blow, the first solo rapper ever recorded.
The "Furious Five" was: Melle Mel, Cowboy, Kid Creole, Mr. Ness, aka Scorpio, and Rahiem.
They'd performed many times together but did not record a single until ‘Superappin' when Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" created such a market. However, Big Bank Hank's rap came from an old book of rhymes written by Melle Mel that he let him borrow.
After "White Lines" and the anti-cocaine movement of 1983, friendships between Flash and Melle Mel proved rocky, and Melle Mel left the group and started a new "Furious Five".
The Furious Five and Grandmaster Flash reformed in the late '80s for a charity event.
2007 was Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ironically though, they play a BIG part in helping Hip Hop take Rock 'n' Roll's placements on the charts.