Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Why they matter

The group formed in the South Bronx in 1978. Melle Mel, Kidd Creole and Cowboy worked first as the Three MC’s behind Grandmaster Flash, and Scorpio and Rahiem filled out the five. They built the name the way everybody did then, at parties and live shows. Records came later, once “Rapper’s Delight” proved there was a market. Their first single, “Superappin,” came out on Enjoy in 1979, and by 1980 they were on Sylvia Robinson’s Sugar Hill label.

Two records from that run still teach. “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” (1981) is Flash crossfading, cutting and backspinning between Chic, Queen, Blondie and his own group’s singles, recorded live in the studio. It was the first record to put scratching and turntablism on wax, proof of what a DJ actually did with his hands. Then “The Message” in 1982, written by Duke Bootee and Melle Mel, slowed the tempo, opened up space in the track and described inner-city pressure in plain, specific terms. Melle Mel is the only member who really raps on it, and Flash never appeared on the group’s studio recordings at all. It didn’t matter. Party rap had a rival, and the road to Public Enemy and KRS-One started there.

A royalty dispute with Sugar Hill split the group in 1983, and the 1988 reunion album On the Strength didn’t land. In 2007 they became the first hip-hop group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and “The Message” was among the first 50 recordings added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.

What a working rapper can take from it

The DJ is a musician. Rehearse like one. Flash cut Wheels of Steel live over hours, and when he slipped he went back to the top instead of punching in a fix. If you perform with a DJ, run the transitions as hard as you run your verses. The show guide covers the DJ-or-track decision and how long your set should run.

Slow down to be heard. “The Message” works because the track leaves room for every line. If your verse is dense and important, ask the producer to strip the arrangement back, not to make it louder. Space is how a listener catches detail.

Settle the paperwork before the hit. This group came apart over money right after its biggest record. Before anything goes out, agree in writing on who wrote and produced what. The split sheet takes ten minutes and saves the friendship.