Grandmaster Flowers was a DJ from Brooklyn, New York. One of the earliest DJs to mix records together in sequence[1], Flowers was known as one of the earliest pioneers of Hip Hop. Flowers was heavy on the Disco and Funk scene and used to hold block parties. Flowers is cited as having a "formative influence" on hip hop DJs[2] such as Grandmaster Flash[3] and Afrika Bambaataa in the early 1970s. In 1969 Grandmaster Flowers opened for James Brown at Yankee Stadium. Although an inspiration to many of Hip Hop's early greats, Flowers never made it to the heights of his successors in Hip Hop Culture but is highly respected by those he influenced. As he found himself being overtaken by the younger up and coming DJs at the end of the 70s Flowers succumbed to a life of hardship and dependence on hard drugs. He died in 1992.