Acting
Dec 31, 1957
The Bronx, New York, U.S
Grandmaster Flash
Acting
Biography
Grandmaster Flash (born Joseph Robert Saddler on January 1, 1958 in Barbados) is a hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. Saddler's family migrated to the United States, and he grew up in the Bronx. He became involved in the earliest Queensbridge, New York DJ scene, attending parties set up by early luminaries. Learning from Pete Jones and Kool Herc, he used duplicate copies of a single record and two turntables but added a dextrous manual edit with a mixer to promote the break (a point of isolated drum rhythm) - the ordinary playing of the record would be interrupted to overlay the break, the break could be repeated by using the mixer to switch channels while the second record was spun back. The speed and dexterity needed showed why Saddler was called Flash, although he got the nickname in school due to the fact that he hung around with another guy named Gordon (from Flash Gordon). He also invented the technique initially called cutting, which was developed by Grand Wizard Theodore into scratching (AMG). Flash played illegal parties and also worked with rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Lovebug Starski. He formed his own group in the late 1970s, after promptings from Ray Chandler. The initial members were Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and Kid(d) Creole (Nathaniel Glover) making Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs. Two other rappers briefly joined, but they were replaced more permanently by Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams, previously in the Funky Four) and Scorpio (Eddie Morris, also used the name Mr. Ness) to create Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Soon gaining recognition for their skillful raps, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five pioneered MCing, freestyle battles, and invented some of the staple phrases in MCing. They performed at Disco Fever in the Bronx beginning in 1978. Signed to Sugar Hill Records in 1980 by Joe Robinson, they released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom," and also toured. The classic "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," released in 1981 was the best display of their skills (combining elements of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", Chic's "Good Times" and samples from Blondie's Rapture), but it was their least successful single at the time. The group's most significant hit was "The Message" (1982), which was produced by in-house Sugar Hill producer Clifton "Jiggs" Chase and went platinum in less than a month. Flash sued Sugar Hill in 1983 over the non-payment of royalties, and in 1984 the group split between Flash and Mel before disintegrating entirely. Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem signed to Elektra Records while the others continued as "Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five." (Mel notably appeared on Chaka Khan's I Feel for You). They reformed in 1987 for a charity concert, to release one album and then fell apart again. There was another reunion, of a kind, in 1994, although Cowboy died in 1989 from a drug overdose due to the effects of his crack cocaine addiction.
Feature Films (9)
Two aspiring boxers and lifelong friends get involved in a money-laundering scheme through a low-level organized crime group.
Made
Rap music has articulated a black aesthetic that is influencing pop culture around the world. But does it also promote violence, misogyny, and crime? This program featuring rap master Melle Mel describes the history of rap and hip-hop from its roots in earlier oral and musical traditions to its full flowering in the mid-1990s. Commentary by Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, rap’s early innovators; music critic Nelson George, author of hiphopamerica; radical jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron; movie star and rapper Ice Cube; former gangsta rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg; members of Public Enemy, Arrested Development, and the jazz/hip-hop fusion group UFO; and others speak out about the urban African-American experience, civil rights, social responsibility, and other pressing topics. Clips from music videos provide a visual perspective on the genre. Some images and lyrics may be objectionable.
Rap: Looking for the Perfect Beat
Legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the city's hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The actual story of the movie concerns the tension between Zoro's passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose.
Wild Style
"5 Sides of a Coin" is a comprehensive overview of the worldwide cultural movement of Hip-Hop.
5 Sides of a Coin
The 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony take place on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. This year’s Performer Inductees are Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis will receive the Musical Excellence Award, Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten the Early Influence Award, and Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, and Sylvia Robinson the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Television & Series (11)
Celebrities compete in a singing competition with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity. One singer will be eliminated each week, ultimately revealing his or her true identity.
The Masked Singer
An inside look at the changing role of athletes in our fraught cultural and political environment, through the lens of the NBA.
Shut Up and Dribble
The Hip Hop Years is a three part series of one hour television documentaries, made for Channel 4 in 1999. The series was devised by David Upshal who produced, directed and narrated the series. He also produced the 33-track compilation CD which accompanied the series and co-wrote the book with Alex Ogg, also titled The Hip Hop Years. The series charts the definitive story of Hip Hop, rising from the streets of the Bronx to become, what Upshal calls, "the new Rock'n'Roll". The programmes combine archive clips and performance from TV, movies and music videos with specially shot material and interviews with key players.
The Hip Hop Years
Hip-Hop today is a global culture that has changed music, dance, fashion, language —and even politics. But where did this worldwide cultural movement begin? We trace hip-hop back to its humble beginnings, when the kids of the Bronx crammed into house parties, rec rooms, and public parks to hear music like they’d never heard it before.
