CONGRATS TO GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS 5 - FIRST EMCEES INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME !!!NEW YORK NEW YORKMEGA - MEL MIXINTERVIEW PART 1INTERVIEW PART 2INTERVIEW PART 3INTERVIEW PART 4This crew is full of firsts. These Bronx cats were among the first to mix harmonizing with Emceeing. They were the first to put dance moves like the Motown acts in their stage show . Flash was the first to put scratching and mixing onto record in '81 with "Adventures on the wheels of steel". They were the first to put social commentary in Hip Hop with Melle Mel's last verse in "Superrappin" (12 min. Version) , and again with the Message in '82. The Furious 5 are Mele Mel , Kid Creole ( Mels Brother) , Keith Cowboy(R.I.P) , Mr Ness ( aka Scorpio) and Rahiem. Originally it was just Flash as the dj,then Cowboy joined and acted as a crowd motivator ; he was a master at getting the crowd amped by using call and response tactics ( say ho.....all the ladies say owwww....). The crew was called Flash & The Three Emcees (Mele Mel , Creole & Cowboy).By ' 78 Mr.Ness joined,and it was Flash & The Furious 4 ,then Rahiem left the Funky 4 and joined making it the legendary Furious 5 . Flash was also the first Dj to be endorsed by an electronics company - Gemini produced the " Flashformer " Scratching mixer in 1988 .In ' 79 the crew signed with Enjoy records and dropped the classic "Superrappin" . Actually they had a song earlier in ' 79 called " We Rap more Mellow" on Brass records , when they used the name The Younger Generation. Although both classics ; neither got the airplay and attention of Sugarhill Gangs "Rappers Delight" which dropped the same year. In 1980 they signed with Sugarhill records and dropped "Freedom" , which is one of their best works ; and used the same break as Crash Crews "Hi Powered Rap". ' 81 gave us "Birthday Party" and the classic "Adventures on the wheels ". This record was extremely important because it was the first record to have scratching and cutting on it....it gave people outside of New York their first taste of scratching , and changed the way Hip hop records were made !! '82 gave us " Its Nasty " which lifted Tom Tom Clubs "Genius Of Love" - Instant classic .1982 was a critical year for the group. Duke Bootee...(a member of the house band that played on most Sugarhill records releases) collaborated with Mele Mel on the crews smash " The Message " . This gritty tale of the inner city in the Reagan era was the predecessor to todays so called reality rap. Mele Mel who was the front man for the group used an old verse from " Super Rappin " and along with Duke added 4 or 5 new verses. No other Furious 5 members performed on the song ( except the arrest skit at the end). This caused much understood division in the group , and eventually led to a break up. Before the breakup came the Message Lp, Message 2 & New York,New York ( with Duke again ) and " White Lines ".In 1983 Flash took Creole and Raheim with him to Elektra records , added a few more Mcs and a dancer and named the group Grandmaster Flash . They had succsess with " Girls Love the Way He Spins " ," Larrys Dance Theme " , "Style " and " You Know What Time It is " . Mele Mel took Scorpio and Cowboy , stayed on Sugarhill records , and added some outlandish dancers etc . They scored big with " Step Off " , " Beat St. Breakdown " , "Pump Me Up " and " Internationally Known " . Mels click was the better faction , but neither rekindled the magic of the original group. In 1989 the original group recorded the single " Gold " and dropped the lp " On the strength" .Neither got the airplay or attention it deserved . The original line up minus Flash got together and recorded the " Piano" lp in ' 89 also . In 1990 Cowboy died from complications of the AIDS virus. Mele Mel continues to make music with Quincy Jones , and dropped " Right Now " in ' 97 with Scorpio.Mel also dropped an Lp in 2001 with West coast rapper Rondo. Mele Mel performed on JayQuan's single"5 Mics" with Grandmaster Caz in 2004. Flash was music director for the Chris Rock show . Flash also dropped 2 mix cds in 2001 . Rahiem had a song on the Juice soundtrack in the early 90s , and is now working on material with his son . In 2004 GMF & F5 became the first ever rap act to be elected for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.....GMF & F5 the best to ever do it..... no doubt.
, !
