New Video Alert: The Message 2015 – Grandmaster’s Furious 5 Feat. Melle Mel & Scorpio

Born in ’61 in New York with a Cherokee mom and Black dad, Melle Mel was an originator -the first to call himself an MC – Master of Ceremonies.  He is also credited with inventing the term Hip Hop, by teasing a friend who had just joined the US army by scat singing “hip/hop/hip/hop” mimicking the rhythm of marching soldiers.

Melle Mel was the lead MC and main songwriter in the group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.  The group started out with Enjoy Records before recording more R&B style beats with Sugar Hill Records.  Despite Hip Hop sales not always being recorded in the statistics fully, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were awarded a Gold disc for “Freedom” that you can listen to below:

 This is Melle Mel’s song “The Message” – Other than Melle Mel, no members of the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five actually appear on the record.  It became an instant classic, went platinum in less than a month and was one of the first glimmers of conscious Hip Hop.

Submitted by: Rahiem Shabazz