Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five Torrent
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, The Kidd Creole, Keith Cowboy, Mr. Ness/Scorpio and Rahiem, the group's use of turntablism, break-beat DJing, and conscious lyricism were significant in the early development of hip hop music. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five initially built their reputation performing at parties and live shows in the late 1970s and achieved loc.
- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Messa…
- Fast And Furious Flash Game
- Grandmaster And The Furious Five
The group rose to fame in the early 1980s with their first successful single 'Freedom' and later on with their magnum opus 'The Message', which is often cited as among the most influential hip hop songs. However, in 1983, relations between Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel became strained and the group disbanded. A reunion was organized in 1987, and it released a new album. Afterward, the sextet disbanded permanently.
Overall, the group was active for five years and released two studio albums. In 2007, it became the first hip hop group ever to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
| The Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | |||
| Released | October 1982 | ||
| Genre | Hip hop, electro-funk | ||
| Length | 36:58 | ||
| Label | Sugar Hill | ||
| Producer | Jigsaw Productions, Sylvia Robinson | ||
| Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five chronology | |||
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| Singles from The Message | |||
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The Message is the debut studio album of American hip hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, released in October 1982 by Sugar Hill Records. It features the influential eponymous track and hip-hop single 'The Message'.
- 4Charts
Release and reception[edit]
The Message was released in October 1982 by Sugar Hill Records.[1] It was the only album released while the group's original line-up was together.[2] The album charted at number 53 in the United States and at number 77 in the United Kingdom.[1] It was ranked as the 21st best album of 1982 in Robert Christgau's list for the Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[3] In Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), he gave the album an A-minus and said, although 'She's Fresh' is the 'only instant killer', each song's attempt to experiment and 'touch a lot of bases with a broad demographic .. justifies itself'.[4]
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Ron Wynn gave The Message four-and-a-half out of five stars and called it the group's 'ultimate peak' whose highlight was the title track.[5]Miles Marshall Lewis, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), gave its 2002 British reissue four out of five stars and cited 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' as the album's 'clincher' and '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.'[2]Colin Larkin also gave it four stars in his Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2006).[6] Mark Richardson from Pitchfork said The Message featured 'two absolutely essential songs'—the title track and 'Scorpio,' which he dubbed 'the greatest early electro track.' However, he felt the rest of the songs were inferior and gave the album a score of 6.4 out of 10.[7] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[8]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'She's Fresh' | Milton Edwards, Bobbie Knight | 4:57 |
| 2. | 'It's Nasty' | Clifton Chase, Melvin Glover, Sylvia Robinson, Tom Tom Club | 4:19 |
| 3. | 'Scorpio' | Melvin Glover, Nathaniel Glover Jr, Eddie Morris, Keith Wiggins, Guy Williams | 4:55 |
| 4. | 'It's a Shame (Mt. Airy Groove)' | Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright, Lee Garrett, Curtis Harmon, James Lloyd, Cedric Napoleon | 4:57 |
| 5. | 'Dreamin' | Melvin Glover, Nathaniel Glover Jr, Gary Henry, Eddie Morris, Keith Wiggins, Guy Williams | 5:47 |
| 6. | 'You Are' | Gary Henry | 4:51 |
| 7. | 'The Message' | Clifton Chase, Edward Fletcher, Melvin Glover, Sylvia Robinson | 7:12 |
| 1982 UK LP[9] / 2002 European CD reissue | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
| 8. | 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' | Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover, Gabrielle Jackson, Jiggs Chase, Gwendolyn Chisolm, Cheryl Cook, Michael Wright, Guy O'Brien, John Richard Deacon, Joseph Saddler, Angela Brown | 7:06 |
| 2010 expanded edition | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
| 8. | 'Message II (Survival)' | Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover | 6:46 |
| 9. | 'New York, New York' | Sylvia Robinson, Edward G Fletcher, Reginald Lamar Griffin, Melvin Glover | 7:19 |
| 10. | 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Himself' | Unknown - see '2010 Expanded Edition' notes | 5:45 |
| 11. | 'The Message (Instrumental Version)' | Edward G Fletcher, Clifton Chase, Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover | 7:11 |
| 2019 Record Store Day blue double vinyl expanded edition | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
| 8. | 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' | Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover, Gabrielle Jackson, Clifton Chase, Gwendolyn Chisolm, Cheryl Cook, Michael Wright, Guy O'Brien, John Richard Deacon, Joseph Saddler, Angela Brown | 7:06 |
| 9. | 'The Message (Instrumental Version)' | Edward G Fletcher, Clifton Chase, Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover | 7:08 |
| 10. | 'New York, New York' | Sylvia Robinson, Edward G Fletcher, Reginald Lamar Griffin, Melvin Glover | 7:25 |
| 11. | 'Message II (Survival)' | Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover | 6:46 |
| 12. | 'The Birthday Party' | Sylvia Robinson, Melvin Glover | 8:19 |
| 13. | 'Freedom (Instrumental Version)' | Sylvia Robinson | 8:13 |
Features Central Monitoring Program supporting Max.
- Sample credits
- 'She's Fresh' contains samples from 'It's Just Begun' by The Jimmy Castor Bunch and 'The Lovomaniacs' by Boobie Knight.
- 'It's Nasty' contains samples from 'Genius of Love' by Tom Tom Club.
- 'It's a Shame' contains samples from 'Mt. Airy Groove' by Pieces Of A Dream.
- 'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel' contains samples from 'Good Times' by Chic, 'Apache' by The Incredible Bongo Band, 'Rapture' by Blondie, 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen, '8th Wonder' by The Sugarhill Gang, 'Monster Jam' by Sequence, 'Glow of Love' by Change and 'Life Story' by The Hellers.
Personnel[edit]
- Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) – turntables, drum programming, Flashformer transform DJ device
- Keef Cowboy (Keith Wiggins) – Lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
- Grandmaster Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) – Lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
- The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover jr) – Lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
- Scorpio (Eddie Morris) – Lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
- Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) – Lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
- Bass – Doug Wimbish
- Guitar – Skip McDonald
- Prophet Sequential – Reggie Griffin, Jiggs, Sylvia Robinson
- Keyboards – Gary Henry, Dwain Mitchell
- Drums – Keith Leblanc
- Percussion – Ed Fletcher
- Brass – Chops Horn Section
Charts[edit]
Album[edit]
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RIANZ)[10] | 14 |
| UK Albums Chart[1] | 77 |
| U.S. Billboard 200[1] | 53 |
| U.S. Top Black Albums[11] | 8 |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 [12][13] | U.S. R&B [12][13] | U.S. Club Play | NZ [10] | UK [14][15] | ||
| 1981 | 'It's Nasty (Genius of Love)' | — | 22 | — | — | — |
| 'Scorpio' | — | 30 | — | — | 77 [15] | |
| 1982 | 'The Message' | 62 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 8 |
References[edit]
- ^ abcdStrong 2004, p. 619.
- ^ abLewis et al. 2004, p. 341.
- ^Christgau, Robert (February 22, 1983). 'Pazz & Jop 1982: Dean's List'. The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
- ^Christgau 1990, p. 270.
- ^Wynn, Ron. 'The Message - Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five'. Allmusic. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
- ^Larkin 2006, p. 308.
- ^Richardson, Mark (July 14, 2005). 'Grandmaster Flash / Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: The Message / They Said it Couldn't Be Done'. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
- ^Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN0-7893-1371-5.
- ^Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message (Vinyl, LP, Album). Discogs. Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
- ^ ab'Discography Grandmaster Flash'. charts.nz. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^'The Message - Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five : Awards'. Allmusic. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ ab'Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five'. Rolling Stone. July 8, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ abBillboard chartings. Accessed October 17, 2009.
- ^'The Official Charts Company - Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ ab'The Official Charts Company – Grandmaster Flash'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
Bibliography[edit]
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Messa…
- Christgau, Robert (1990). Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN067973015X.
- Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Selected Albums. Bibliographies (4th ed.). Muze. ISBN0195313739.
- Lewis, Miles Marshall; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN0-7432-0169-8.
- Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. p. 4. ISBN1841956155.
Fast And Furious Flash Game
External links[edit]
Grandmaster And The Furious Five
- The Message (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
- The Message at Discogs (list of releases)