Grandmaster Flash and the birth of Hip-Hop

I learned a few things today. First, DJ Kool Herc invented the break on August 11, 1973 that makes today the 44th anniversary of Hip-Hop! Some of you might be asking me what does "the break" have to do with Hip-Hop. Well the break was the part of the song that had the best beat without any lyrics to interrupt it. At this legendary "Back to School" party in 1973 DJ Kool Herc Spun two separate turntables in order to loop that part of the song and keep it going long enough for the dancers to invent breakdancing and the lyricist to begin MCing.

The second thing I learned today is that my favourite Original 70's Hip-Hop DJ, Grandmaster Flash, was born on the same Caribbean island as my parents, Barbados! Yeah that's right, I had no idea untill today but Grandmaster Flash is Bajan! Bajan's represent.

More recent picture of the Grandmaster at work

I am going to share more of Flash's story with you as I wish I had known more of his story myself before today.

Born on January 1, 1958, in Bridgetown, Barbados to the name of Joseph Saddler, the Grandmaster moved to The Brox, New York City at a young age. He attended Samuel Gompers High School, where he learned to repair electronic equipment. His father had a large collection of records that Flash would spend hours looking at and touching even when he wasn't allowed to. His mother was the one who encouraged him to persuse electronics repair.

Grandmaster Flash studied the styles and techniques of earlier DJ's like DJ Kool Herc and began DJing in his bedroom as a teenager eventually developing and mastering three innovative techniques that are still conscidered standard techniques to this day.

1. Backspin technique or Quick-mix theory
   This is the technique for looping the drum break of the song.

2. Punch phrasing or Clock theory
   Isolating short segments like horn hits and punching them in over the best using the mixer.

3. Scratching
   Though the Grand Wizzard Theodore is credited for creating scratching, not only did Grandmaster Flash mentor him to that point but he also perfected scratching and was known for being the best at it for years to come.

Grandmaster Flash collaborated with some of the original MC's of the 70's like Kurtis Blow and Lovebug (Busybee) Starski. He eventually formed his own group which was called Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The Furious Five consisted of Cowboy (the inventor of the term Hip-Hop), Melle Mel (the invented of the term MC), Kid Creole, Rahiem, and Scorpio. This crew quickly became so popular they were the first Hip-Hop crew to get a weekly gig at a well know venue, Disco Fever.

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The Message

1983 - Grandmaster Flash DJing tutorial

Recent Interview/Showcase of The Grandmaster

In Conclusion if you conscider yourself a Hip-Hop Fan and don't know who Flash is... you should probably reconsider.