Debut album for Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, group composed by Joseph "Grandmaster Flash" Saddler, Bronx rapper originally from Barbados, Melvin "Grandmaster Melle Mel" Glover, Nathaniel "Kidd Creole" Glover, Edward "Scorpio" Morris, Robert Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, and Guy Todd "Rahiem" Williams.
Inconsistent effort stuck between rap and R&B (with two mediocre fillers, sung) with its party funk which basically presents mediocre, gray, forgettable songs: the revolutionary of "Scorpio / It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" is truly appreciable by electro lovers, and the unique exception on the whole record is the classic "The Message". "The Message" is the true precursor of the whole genre. With its socially conscious, serious rap, it shows that this neo-genre has its own potential to convey a real message. Excellent funky rhythm, enveloping, vibrant, lively, cheerful synth and five verses between Grandmaster Melle Mel and Duke Bootee (despite is credited to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five), composed of raw and timeless lyrics that allow it to become the most influential song in hip hop without fear of contradiction, in particular the last, the fifth verse, wonderfully delivered by Melle Mel, is pure poetry. The LP has a good commercial success: it comes close to the top fifty in the pop charts, it breaks the top ten of the R&B charts (at times, "Black Albums"), charting #8, setting new records in the rankings of New Zealand (#14), UK (#77), and Australia (#78). Three singles are extracted, which are classified among the rnb songs, with "The Message" becoming the first rap song to obtain a notable international response. From here hip hop definitively detaches itself from the womb of the disco music, cuts the umbilical cord and since then, is son of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment