Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash helped invent both an art form, the hip-hop sound, and a type of artist, the turntablist DJ. When the 16-year-old Flash (Joseph Saddler) got into Bronx street parties in 1973, he discovered he had no skills as a break dancer, but he did have a passion for music and tinkering with electronic equipment in his bedroom. Adored, party-throwing DJs such as Kool Herc, Pete DJ Jones, and Grandmaster Flowers inspired Flash to combine the sharpest parts of their acts into something better and stronger. During 1974Ð75, Flash perfected a way to intercut and extend break beats on the beat, so that dancers could just keep rolling on with the funky bits he selected. He could also assemble pieces of records into complete new workouts, something everybody takes for granted today. This was so innovative back then that it called for a new style of MC, or rapper, to put it across to an audience. The Furious Five, who were up to the challenge, consisted of exhorter Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), wordslinger Kid Creole (Nathaniel Glover), and Kid's more politically minded brother Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), who brought in Scorpio (Eddie Morris) and love-man Raheim (Guy Williams). The Five began to finish one another's lines and toss around raps rhythmically in time to Flash's turntable work. Together they became the mightiest originators in hip-hop history.

Message from Beat Street contains key underground singles, such as "Freedom"; numbers that made Flash and the Five favorites of the new-wave rock set, such as "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)"; and Melle Mel's most ferocious, relentless performance ever, on "The Message," the gunshot that signaled the rise of gangsta rap. Also very desirable is the British import of The Message, the only LP issued while the original group was intact. The clincher is "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," the only prime-period example of Flash's ability to set and shatter moods, with his turntables and faders running through a collage of at least 10 records that sound like hundreds. Those who want to spend more and get a full picture of the group should go for Adventures on the Wheels of Steel, with choice rarities. Greatest Mixes unfortunately entrusts the sound of Flash and the Five to outsiders, while The Showdown and The Message: Greatest Hits needlessly pair Flash and the Five with the much more trivial Sugarhill Gang.

When a new generation of DJs such as the Invisible Scratch Piklz revived the art of turntablism a few years ago, Flash finally began to get his due as a pioneer scientist of sound. Presents Salsoul Jam 2000, however, shows that Latin disco isn't his finest mode of operation. Much more on target, Essential Mix: Classic Edition is a super-solid assembly of cuts that never quite goes delirious. Though a standout, The Official Adventures of Grandmaster Flash is rather skimpy, padded by brief interview segments and four vintage jams such as Babe Ruth's "The Mexican," which provide old-skool ambience or something. The CD becomes nearly essential, however, because it contains four restless, scratchedelic, funk-filled "turntable mixes" by Flash that are the first and so far only released followups to "Wheels of Steel." Plus, Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster's liner notes provide a definitive history of Flash's techniques and career. Looking back on his achievements, Flash puts it best: "First is forever." (MILO MILES)

From the 2004 The New Rolling Stone Album Guide