The First Time With Grandmaster Flash

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The First Time with Grandmaster Flash

The First Time With...: Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash

BBC Radio 6 Music - The First Time With..., Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash shares his musical milestones in a programme first broadcast in 2014.

Matt Everitt talks to Grandmaster Flash about the key musical moments of his life and career, including his time pioneering the hip-hop movement.

Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash shares his musical milestones with Matt Everitt in a programme first broadcast in 2014.

There's a strong argument that hip hop started at the block parties in the Bronx in New York in the 70s, where lyrical, musical and technical innovation propelled the sound forward with an impetus that changed the world. Joseph Saddler, soon to known as Grandmaster Flash, was there. 

Born in Barbados, but moving to NYC, an absolute obsession with music, vinyl and electronics led Flash to experiment with amplifiers and turntable mechanics and techniques, enabling him to open up a whole new world of scratching, cutting, back-spinning and punch phrasing. His skills as a DJ led to the groundbreaking 1981 track The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, the first time scratching and mixing had appeared on record. 

Flash, recalls his journey from bedroom equipment geek to sonic adventurer, covering the early records that shaped his musical aesthetic and the release of The Message. He also talks about his battles with substance abuse, his difficult relationship with the record industry and his feelings about his status as one of the architects of modern music.

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