Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ (Grandmaster Flash) and five rappers (Melle Mel, Kidd Creole, Cowboy, Mr. Ness/Scorpio, and Rahiem), the group's use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, choreographed stage routines and lyricism was a significant force in the early development of hip-hop music.
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 began straining and the group disbanded. A reunion was organized in 1987, and it released a new album, which received lukewarm reviews. 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.
Read more about Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five: Legacy and Influence, Discography
Famous quotes containing the words flash and/or furious:
“The point of the dragonflys terrible lip, the giant water bug, birdsong, or the beautiful dazzle and flash of sunlighted minnows, is not that it all fits together like clockwork--for it doesnt ... but that it all flows so freely wild, like the creek, that it all surges in such a free, finged tangle. Freedom is the worlds water and weather, the worlds nourishment freely given, its soil and sap: and the creator loves pizzazz.”
—Annie Dillard (b. 1945)
“Mrs. de Winter: Mrs. Danvers must be furious with me.
Maxim de Winter: Oh, hang Mrs. Danvers! Why on earth should you be frightened of her? You behave more like an upstairs maid or something, not like the mistress of the house at all.
Mrs. de Winter: Yes, I know I do. But I feel so uncomfortable. I try my best every day, but its very difficult with people looking you up and down as if you were a prize cow.”
—Robert E. Sherwood (18961955)