Saturday 13 October 2007

Back in the Day #3 - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 - Freedom

Aww no, they didn't?!
'Freedom', the group's first release on SugarHill Records in 1980 was their first to enter the R&B charts. It peaked at a respectable #19 and was the first of 10 of their records to make the charts during a three-year span from 1980 to 1983. The record featured the first 'MC', Melle Mel.

This record is an example of the tag team rhyming that was typical of the group. The boys trade lines to an uplifting disco beat, the vibe of which is missing in todays scene. The bass line is awesome and the claps bring the live party sound into your earphones. This, along with the oft quoted lines that have since become cemented into Hip Hop lexicon you could lie back and imagine you were in the Bronx in the 80's.

The kazoo solo was obviously jacked by Jurassic 5 (on 'Concrete Schoolyard') some 15 years later as a homage and as proof that the 'vibe they energise' is not extinct.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

grang master flash is my mothers cousins father