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who love good music, be it old or new school. Any music or links posted are for SAMPLE PURPOSES ONLY. We wish that you would support all artists by purchasing their bodies of work.
Grandmaster Flowers (born Jonathon Cameron Flowers) is known for influencing Hip-Hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, and also had a formative influence on Hip-Hop culture, being regarded as one of the earliest to use the "mixing" technique to keep playing music in a non-stop sequence. He opened for James Brown at Yankee Stadium in 1869.
For many years, I have heard the name mentioned several times, but hadn't heard more info on him, except for how good his sets used to be, his fans and his influence through technique. It's has been stated that Hip-Hop collective X-Clan hired Flowers as their sound man after Professor X saw him panhandling on the streets of New York. Professor X used to mention to the rest of the group about how Flowers used to rock the parties in Brooklyn.
"Flowers was to brothers in Brooklyn what Kool Herc was to brothers in the Bronx. Everybody loved and followed Flowers." - Professor X (Lumumba Carson)
When it comes to DJing, you have to pay respects to the pioneers in order to really appreciate the culture. Grandmaster Flash is the key figure in both Hip-Hop and DJ culture that innovated the DJ techniques back-spinning, punch phrasing and scratching (although Grand Wizzard Theodore originated scratching, Flash perfected it and popularized it) in the 1970's that are still used by DJs of today.
In the late 1970's, Grandmaster Flash started his own group The Furious Five, that featured himself as the group's DJ. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five initially singed to Enjoy Records, then released "Superrappin'" in 1979. The following year the group signed to Sugar Hill Records. 1981 brought about the release of "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels of Steel", a seven minute mix of Spoonie Gee's "Monster Jam," Blondie's "Rapture," Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache," Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," Chic's "Good Times," and the group's own "Freedom." Flash is the first DJ to ever do a record that was strictly for a DJ to showcase his skills. He credits his influences as Grandmaster Flowers, DJ Kool Herc and Pete Jones.
English producer Krafty Kuts takes us on a blast to the past by recreating a rap version of Freedom's "Get Up & Dance" that was originally released in 1979 and sampled by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Veteran jungle/drum n' bass emcee Dynamite MC does his thing on the vocal end. Download and do as the track says. ENJOY!
Since I misplaced the mixes I did previously for this Wax Attack series, I decided to do them all over again. I have to say that I do like these mixes better than the ones from before. Here's the first installment of the series. Thanks to Jalil Hutchins of Whodini for the inspiration. ENJOY!
Sylvia Robinson
(March 6, 1936 – September 29, 2011)
We lose yet another pioneer in music. Sylvia Robinson, as a performer known to many simply billed as Sylvia, passed away earlier today in a New Jersey hospital. She's also know as the "mother of Hip-Hop", because she was the driving force behind Sugar Hill Records, both as co-founder and a producer. Sylvia helped to usher in two key records in the Hip-Hop genre, "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugar Hill Gang and "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five.
Sylvia aided in the production and releases through forming All Platinum Records in 1968. All Platinum would eventually purchase Chess Records in the early 1970's, a label that housed artists such as Etta James, The Moments, Shirley & Company, Candi Staton, Jean Carn and more. Eventually, All Platinum wasn't able to keep steady releasing material from the former Chess roster.
In 1973, Sylvia released "Pillow Talk" on Vibration. The single reached #1 on the R&B chart and is considered an early prototype of Disco music. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1973. In 1976 she released her self titled album Sylvia that contained "Sweet Stuff", a tune sampled by Detroit producer J-Dilla for his "Crushin'" tune on his Ruff Draft album.
The mid-1970's brought the founding of Sugar Hill Records with Milton Malden. The label being named after the culturally rich Sugar Hill section of Harlem in New York City. "Rapper's Delight" was released in 1979 and put rap music on the commercial market. Later "The Message" would follow, although it was an abandoned demo. With the guidance of Sylvia and assistance from a session drummer, she persuaded Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five to record what would be the introduction of socially conscious lyrics into Hip-Hop. By commercializing the market for rap records, Robinson is credited as the mother of modern hip-hop. She introduced the idea of re-using existing compositions, a practice that later became known as "sampling".
