The song structure is tight and the delivery is executed with that classic Furious 5 trade-off style. It’s a song in the same socially conscious vein as “The Message”, however the whole group got in on the act this time. Airy Groove” by jazz vets Pieces Of A Dream. But just as tight was the lesser known, “It’s A Shame”, which borrowed both from the R&B classic of the same name and the funky, “Mt. “It’s Nasty” featured the crew rockin’ “suggestive” (boy have times changed) rhymes over Tom Tom Club’s monster groove, “Genius Of Love” and was one of GMF&F5’s more popular songs. There are also a couple of more straight forward rap gems…. Rahiem could really sing, which unfortunately has not always been the case with other rappers trying to hold down double duty on the mic. Rahiem really get his shine on the cuts “Dreamin'”, a cheesy (but no doubt, sincere) tribute to Stevie Wonder, and the stirring gospel flavored, “You Are”. With no less than four tracks that have melodies being handled by the group, the album demonstrated the F5’s versatility on the mic. There are more things to consider about this album, not the least of which is the discovery of the singing abilities of the group…particularly Rahiem. Finally, there is the album’s title track, which was not only the group’s most successful song, but was also one of the most significant songs of it’s era…rap or otherwise. In fact, the only other rap albums to speak of around this general period were by the Sugarhill Gang, The Treacherous Three and Kurtis Blow, which makes this a rarity indeed. Add to that, the fact that this album was released in 1982, a time when rap acts were only dropping 12-inch singles. Ness aka Scorpio, Rahiem, Keith Cowboy and Grandmaster Flash. This is the first, and only studio album recorded with the original crew of Melle Mel, Kid Creole, Mr. The reasons are many, but let’s start with the obvious. What matters is the seismic change it caused in music, one which continues to ripple to this day.“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five is a bonafide classic and should be considered a valuable collectors item.
But in the long run, it doesn’t really even matter how it did on the charts. The UK, on the other hand, was far more receptive to the song, sending it to #18 on their singles chart. Mind you, the chart success of “The Message” wasn’t nearly as impressive as its history would lead you to believe: while it climbed to #4 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, it topped out at #62 on the Hot 100. There was a story that needed to be heard, and hip-hop became the vehicle in which that was possible. But out of those concrete streets grew a restlessness that would not be quilled. Tucked away neatly out of the line of sight of America, the government could easily throw money, subsidized housing and food stamps at them in hopes they would kill themselves and keep it quiet. People who felt trapped in these inhumane circumstances were lamenting that life was not all good in the “hood.” The hood had become the place were dreams and people were forgotten. Often mistaken for a threat, “Don’t push me because I am close to the edge,” was actually a cry for help…or at the least, an acknowledgment. They were children born into abstract devastation and were desperately looking for a way of escape. Contrary to what the White House was saying or the news media were reporting, black and brown people were not just these unsavory characters addicted to drugs, crime, and unwedded pregnancies. The reality in 1982 was that millions from the projects in Brooklyn, New York to the ghettos of Watts in California were given very little in the way of choices or opportunities in how they could live.
Thankfully, the group changed their mind: “The Message” went on to be one of the most influential songs of all time, and writer Cherese Jackson explained the reasons for its importance in a March 2019 article for Liberty Voice: In fact, Melle Mel admitted in an NPR interview that the group originally didn’t want to do the song because it wasn’t what they were used to rapping about. Fletcher, Melle Mel, Sylvia Robinson, and Clifton “Jiggs” Chase, “The Message” arrived when rap was still in its infancy as a musical genre (at least as far as mainstream audiences were concerned, anyway), but it nonetheless stood out from the pack by featuring lyrics which tackled a serious issue – inner city poverty – rather than being a bunch of self-congratulatory boasts.
37 years ago today, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released one of the most iconic rap singles of all time, and if that’s not a good enough excuse to feature the track in our Single Stories column, we don’t know what is.įormally credited to Edward G.