Grandmaster Flash (US)

Saturday Sep. 18 – Folken at 23:00

During hip-hop’s nearly 30-year history, few names have become as well known to music lovers across the globe as that of Grandmaster Flash. Not only is he responsible for inventing the musical genre called Hip Hop but his pioneering use of the turntables make him The First DJ to play the Turntables as a Musical Instrument thus helping to elevate the status of the DJ to a masterful, artistic position. He is universally recognized as a visionary artist. He is also responsible for assembling one of the earliest and greatest rap groups of all time â ” The Furious Five ” these are some of the hallmarks of a career which has extended from the Bronx in the early 1970s to all corners of the globe into the 21st century.
Hip-Hop Culture was created in 1971 by three DJs , Flash being one of them, and then, contrary to popular belief, came the graffitti writers and the breakdancers, and the MCs followed much later. Flash recorded the unique sounds he created, and in 1977 began experimenting and collaborating with local MC’s and put together his own group who became known as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their reputation grew around Flash’s unrivaled DJ skills and the group’s blending and trading of lyrics. Flash also gained notice for the visually dynamic and acrobatic way he could spin and scratch records using his feet, toes and elbows.

Grandmaster Flash has remained one of the world’s most-respected musical innovators by never stopping his touring and performing for appreciative crowds around the world. He played the 1998 Super Bowl, and was invited by comedian Chris Rock to be the musical director for Rock’s groundbreaking HBO-TV series, where Flash could be seen onscreen spinning during the show’s four-year run. He performed for the closing of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England in 2002 for more than 40,000 in attendance, which included Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth, and billions of television viewers around the world.

And to top it all Joseph Saddler – DJ Grandmaster Flash has been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame making him the First DJ and Hip Hop Artist to ever be nominated along with the Furious Five.

With 24 Awards under his belt, honoring Flash for being the First DJ to make the Turntables a Musical Instrument its easy to see why this man is such an icon and great inspiration to many around the globe.