Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are a famous hip hop group. She was originally grouped with Grandmaster Flash and 5 other rappers. The team decided to use turntable and breakbeat when creating music, which had a positive effect on the rapid development of the hip-hop direction.
The musical gang began to gain popularity by the mid-80s with the premiere hit "Freedom", later with their legendary track "The Message". Critics consider it one of the most significant in the band's career.
But the formation could not continue in such a positive way. In 1983, Melle Mel quarreled with the Flash, so the creative team later fell apart. After they regrouped again in '97, the group recorded a fresh album. Listeners reacted negatively and not particularly pleasant responses flew in their address. The group again ceased to conduct joint activities.
The musical group has been active for almost 5 years and has released 2 albums recorded in the studio.
Formation of the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Prior to its inception, the group worked with the L Brothers. With this group, they traveled to bars and other events in the south Bronx. But only in 1977 did the Grandmaster begin to perform with the famous rap artist Kurtis Blow.
Grandmaster Flash then invited Cowboy, Kidd Creole and Melle Mel to the team. The trio became known as the Three MC's. Among the first tracks released were "We Rap More Mellow" and "Flash to the Beat". They were recorded live.
At the regional level, the artists immediately received recognition after the debut of the track "Rapper's Delight". In 1979, the first single was released, on Enjoy! Records, "Supperrappin'".
In the future, the guys concentrated on working with the famous performer Sylvia Robins. Their collaboration resulted in two joint compositions. Relations with the performer developed well, and listeners even began to think that Sylvia had an affair with Flash.
Long-awaited popularity
Later, Scorpio and Rehiem joined the group. The band's name was changed to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Already in 1980, the guys were nominated for the Sugarhill Records award, as the track "Freedom" took 19th position in the main chart.
In 1982, a team of rappers released the song "The Message". The musicians Jiggs and Duke Bootee participated in the creation of this track. This composition provoked a strong resonance in society, which became the starting point in the development of hip-hop as a separate type of music.
Decay of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
In early 1983, the Grandmaster Flash sued Shagar Hill Records for $5 million. Another lawsuit was filed when parts of the track were revealed to have been stolen from Liquid Liquid's Cavern. But the benefit of the performers was able to agree peacefully, and the lawsuit was withdrawn.
In 1987, the original line-up was updated to perform at a charity event in Madison Square Garden.
They then fired off their new album "on the Strength". The work was published in the spring of 1988. The album's reception was dismal, and it failed to achieve the same level of success as "The Message". The musicians could not reach the bar that they set in 1980, the group completely fell apart.
Interesting Facts
- The concept of "hip-hop" came up with Cowboy - a friend of the Flash;
- The Flash was the first musician to use headphones in performances;
- Flash is recognized as the first DJ who created and put into production a device - The Flashformer with a built-in function key. This device has become very popular, so the production quickly got on stream.
- The Hero Grandmaster Flash is present in the video game "DJ Hero" with his unique cuts;
- In 2008, he presented to the public his own memoirs about his life, readers quickly sold out all the books.
Creative heritage
Gradually, the sphere of music-making began to displace the existing boundaries of the hip-hop genre, which soon provoked a strong blurring of the boundaries of the genre. And only after a few decades, you can understand what an invaluable contribution the group made to the music industry.
1989 was a truly sad year for the team, as Cowboy committed suicide. This event greatly shook the internal atmosphere of the group.
Further, the musicians separated for unknown reasons, and they grouped again only in 1994. And now in addition to FURIOUS FIVE, Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC have been added here. In 2002, the group wrote 2 collections. They went well to regular listeners, but the guys began to release tracks much less often.
Today, The Flash hosts a weekly radio program, performs regularly in New York City, and regularly travels around the world with his family. His hobby is creating his own clothing brand, which he actively promotes on his social networks.
