See how one of hip-hop's founding fathers continues to work on the cutting edge of music tech on Thursday, April 4 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
Also airs 4/06 at 10:30 a.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m.; 4/07 at 3:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 8:30 p.m.; 4/10 at 2:30 a.m.; and 4/11 at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. Eastern.

Page 1  2  3
Most people remember the 70s as the age of disco, but while dance neophytes were doing the white man's overbite, New York's underground DJs went beyond just spinning vinyl. For the first time, experimental turntable gurus found the breakdowns in rock and funk records -- the part where everything drops except the bass and drums.

Cutting between two copies of the same song, they extended these isolated breaks indefinitely. Some DJ superstars jumped quickly between the two sections, creating a continuous mix of drum breaks -- essentially inventing hip-hop. Kool Herc was the first DJ to master this art, but with a simple toggle switch and a pair of headphones, Grandmaster Flash brought the sound to the mainstream.

Born January 1, 1958 as Joseph Saddler in Barbados, Flash moved to the South Bronx at a young age. He turned himself on to music in secret, exploring his father and sister's vast record collections. Flash claims that "like a mad techno-scientist, I had spent months holed up in my room testing dozens of needles, sampling sounds and perfecting my newest experiment -- The Quick Mix Theory."

His bedroom invention, which consists of the backspin, clock theory, double back/back door, and phasing, laid the foundation for the now widespread practice of live sampling. Flash also originated trick-DJing skills like mixing records behind his back or beneath tables, kicking mixing faders with his feet.

In 1977, Flash and his rhyming partner, Keith Wiggins, a.k.a. Cowboy, hooked up with Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), Kid Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Mr. Ness (Eddie Morris), and Rahiem (Guy Williams) to become Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Sugar Hill Gang had recently splashed onto the scene with "Rapper's Delight," paving the way for Flash and the Five's dominance.

The group's breakthrough came in 1981 with "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel." The first song to demonstrate the turntablist technique, it featured Flash cutting between rock, funk, and disco tracks, including Chic's "Good Times," bits and pieces of Spoonie Gee's "Monster Jam," Sugarhill Gang's "Eighth Wonder," and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust."

Nineteen years later, it's still considered the template for the ultimate DJ mix. Flash's innovative techniques incited a revolution and inspired DJs like Grand Wizard Theodore. Today, with the added help of studio technology, musicians like Coldcut and Liam Howlett of Prodigy try to recreate Flash's sound on their mix albums. Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist recently recorded a similar track called "The Re-Return of the Original Art Form."


Page 1  2  3