On the 5th Day of Mavericks ...
... my reader gave to me.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
- as nominated by ‘Challenge 69’ reader Mark S
I invited Mark to take us off genre from ‘Challenge 69’s usual fare, and he certainly proved up to the task with this nomination:
“Honoured to be in such esteemed company …
… how about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, singing ‘The Message’, from the early 80’s. Introduced rap to the middle classes/white boys/the brits! Influenced so many after them and sampled so many times since.
Really a band ahead of their time, introducing us to a whole new music genre!”
My memory’s not what it was; so the first question Mark’s suggestion brought to mind was, “is he right on the timing?” Rap music is such a staple part of today’s musical diet, but when was the first time it raised its head above the mainstream parapet?
So, for those old enough (and many of my readers meet that criteria!) here is a little quiz. Which was the first rap record to register in the upper reaches of the UK charts?
Was it (as Mark maintains): ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?
Or: ‘Rappers Delight’ by the Sugarhill Gang?
Or (however inauthentically): ‘Rapture’ by Blondie? (This is not just an excuse to shoehorn a Debbie Harry picture in, honest!)
The ultimate arbiter Google informs me that:
‘The Message’ was released in July 1982, reaching #8 in the UK singles chart,
‘Rappers Delight’ was released in September 1979, reaching #3, and,
‘Rapture’ was released in January 1981, reaching #5.
Did you guess right?
In pure chronological terms then, by some distance, ‘Rappers Delight’ was the ground-breaker, but I think I’m with Mark. Surely ‘The Message’ was the more impactful and influential record?
It might be passing the buck, but I think it’s time to leave it up to Stuart to decide:
“Firstly, can I thank Mark for exposing the potentially soft (white) underbelly of my maverick team’s indie bias. While my list has already proven that it’s gender blind, this recommendation gives me the perfect opportunity to declare it an entirely prejudice free zone. If the talent and the song is right, then this is a club open to all.
And ‘The Message’ easily qualifies on both of those fronts. It might not have been the first rap recording to ‘make it big’, but it was definitely the song that ‘broke the mould’, setting the direction for all the hip-hop records that came after by putting ‘social commentary’ firmly at the front of the mix.
I might prefer my music to come with a greater accent on the tune than the beat, but I’d still argue that many of the strongest lyrical outings of recent years (when they avoid the pitfalls of glorifying violence and misogyny) have come out of hip-hop/rap.
‘The Message’ kicked off that trend, and undoubtedly played its part in legitimising the notion that rap may have become, “the new Dylan!”
But, and here’s the controversial bit, for the first time I’m going to deny entry to one of these reader nominated mavericks. I’m sorry Mark, I’m not allowing Grandmaster Flash into the club …
… for the very good reason he had nothing whatsoever to do with this song!
‘The Message’ was written, and performed, by two other members of the Furious Five (which, by the way, sounds like an ‘alternative’ take on Enid Blyton!), Duke Bootee and Melle Mell.
When the song was proposed to the Grandmaster though, he refused to record it. Apparently, those (so influential) words didn’t fit in with the ‘party rap’ image he thought was crucial. The record label disagreed with him but, for commercial reasons, still decided to credit the single to the (already established) full band.
So it’s a big NO to Grandmaster Flash, who (if he’d got his way) might well have stifled the development of hip-hop. He can, instead, simply watch on enviously, from behind the crowd barriers, as we lay out the red carpet and invite Duke Bootee and Melle Mel, quite deservedly, to enter the Maverick Hall in his place!”
That’s a bit of a shocker then!
Stuart has turned bouncer on us, refusing one of our nominees entry; yet Mark somehow ends up landing two ‘new mavericks’ for the price of one.
At least there’s little doubt today over which song should be added to our ‘12 Days of Mavericks playlist.
“It’s like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder, how I keep from going under!”
Remember to look out for our sixth ‘new maverick’ nomination (with hopefully a bit less argy-bargy) at the same time tomorrow.