A pioneer of hip-hop, DJ and producer Grandmaster Flash became a household name with a single track, "The Message" (1982), which inspired a large number of vocals. Born in the Bronx district of New York to a family originally from Barbados, Joseph Saddler was born on January 1, 1958. As a teenager, he began mixing records at parties, making a name for himself on the local disco scene while studying electronics. As the years went by, he developed his own technique based on ingenious transitions,scratching and speed variations, much to the delight of audiences who came back for more. The man nicknamed Grandmaster Flash established the vocabulary of all DJs to come. As early as 1977, he surrounded himself with rappers like Kurtis Blow and formed The Furious Five collective with Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and her brother Kid Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Scorpio (Eddie Morris aka Mr. Ness) and Rahiem (Guy Williams). Initially known as The Younger Generation, the band recorded the track "Superappin'" (1979), before signing with Sylvia Robinson's Sugar Hill Records label. Released in 1980, the disco-rap "Freedom" reached the R&B charts, as did its successor "Birthday Party". The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel"(1982), a seven-minute social diatribe that toured the world and closed the album of the same name, included other anthems such as "It's Nasty" and "She's Fresh". The following year, the track "White Lines (Don't Do It)", an ode to anti-drugs, caused controversy because of its references to cocaine, and put an end to relations with rapper Melle Mel, who retained the group name The Furious Five. Now on his own, Grandmaster Flash produced the albums They Said It Couldn't Be Done (1985), The Source (1986) and Da Bop-Boom Bang (1987), without recapturing the scent of former glory. Finally reunited for a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five returned to the studio to record On the Strength (1988), and celebrated their classics with a tour in 1994. While compilations continued to flourish, the DJ continued to record between mixing sessions, as evidenced by the albums Flash Is Back (1998) and The Bridge: Concept of a Culture (2009), on which he invited Snoop Dogg, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane and Q-Tip, among others.
