Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five

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Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Origin	New York City
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	1976-1997
Label(s)	Enjoy Records Sugar Hill Records
Members
Grandmaster Flash Melle Mel Kid Creole Cowboy Scorpio Rahiem

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential hip hop group comprised of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kid Creole, Cowboy, Scorpio (aka Mr. Ness) and Raheim. In 2007, they became the first rap group to ever be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1 History
2 Legacy
3 Discography
4 References

[edit] History

Flash played illegal parties and also worked with rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Lovebug Starski. He formed his own group in the late 1970s, after promptings from Ray Chandler. The initial members were Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover) making Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs (with Melle Mel being the first rapper ever to call himself an "MC"). Two other rappers briefly joined, but they were replaced more permanently by Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams, previously in the Funky Four) and Scorpio (Eddie Morris, also used the name Mr. Ness) to create Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Soon gaining recognition for their skillful raps, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pioneered MCing, freestyle battles, and invented some of the staple phrases in MCing. The group performed at Disco Fever in the Bronx beginning in 1978. Cowboy created the term "Hip Hop" while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.^{[citation needed]}

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were signed to Bobby Robinson's Enjoy Records and in 1979 released the classic "Superrappin'". They later signed to Sugar Hill Records and released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom," and also toured. The classic "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," released in 1981, was the best display of Flash's skills (combining elements of Blondie's "Rapture," Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache," Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" and Chic's "Good Times." It also marked the first time that record scratching had been actually recorded on a record. The group's most significant hit was "The Message" (1982), which was produced by in-house Sugar Hill producer Clifton "Jiggs" Chase and featured session musician Duke Bootee. Other than Melle Mel, no members of the group actually appear on the record. It went platinum in less than a month. In 1983, Flash appeared in the movie Wild Style and sued Sugar Hill over the non-payment of royalties. The group split between Flash and Mel before disintegrating entirely. Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem signed to Elektra Records and continued on as simply "Grandmaster Flash" while Mel and the others continued on as "Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five." Grandmaster Flash's version of the group had a minor hit with "Sign Of The Times". Melle Mel's version of the group produced "Step Off", "Pump Me Up", "King of the Streets", "Vice" and the mega-hit "White Lines (Don't Do It)" (falsely credited to Grandmaster + Melle Mel by Sugarhill Records in order to fool the public into thinking Grandmaster Flash had participated on the record). During this period, Melle Mel appeared in the film "Beat Street", performing the title song in the movie's grand finale, and became the first rapper ever to win a Grammy Award for Record of the Year for his deut with Chaka Khan on "I Feel For You".

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five reformed in 1987 for a charity concert, and in 1988 released the album "On The Strength", an album that did poorly. Melle Mel closed out the decade by winning two more Grammy awards as a solo artist for his work with Quincy Jones. There was another reunion in 1994, although Cowboy had died in 1989.

[edit] Legacy

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five are an enormously respected group in the history of hip hop music. They have been inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame and currently have their own street sign.

Grandmaster Flash has a clothing line, "G.Phyre" and hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio. He was awarded the BET I Am A Hip Hop Icon award and will release his autobiography "The Message" in 2008.

Melle Mel (now known as Mele Mel) has a clothing line with Sedgwick & Cedar. He released the children's book/CD/DVD "Portal In The Park" in November 2006 and he released his first ever solo album "Muscles" on January 30, 2007.^[1] The first single & music video is "M3 (The New Message)", released on the 25th anniversary of "The Message".

[edit] Discography

Album information
The Message Released: 1982 Last RIAA certification: Platinum Singles: "The Message"
They Said It Couldn't Be Done Released: April 26, 1985 Chart Positions: #35 Top R&B/Hip Hop Last RIAA certification: Gold Singles:
The Source Released: 1986 Chart positions: #145 US, #27 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Last RIAA certification: Gold Singles:
Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang Released: 1987 Chart positions: #197 US, #43 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Last RIAA certification: Gold Singles:
On the Strength Released: 1988 Chart positions: #189 US Last RIAA certification: Gold Singles: