Grandmaster Flash

GRANDMASTER FLASH
Inventing music for the oversized T-shirt wearing, break-dancing generation? Richer than Lil Wayne, and way cooler than a G from Compton? Hip-hop’s Godfather breaks down all that and where he went missing for ten years before exploding back onto the scene with Salsoul Jam.

1.    Why did you decide to call yourself Grandmaster Flash? Is there a martial arts reference in there somewhere?
Well, Flash was a children’s cartoon that was quite popular when I was growing up. The deal was – he did things pretty quickly, much like the way I go crazy on the turntables. Grandmaster was a title I was given by a fan who used to come to my early parties. I didn’t know what a Grandmaster really was until I researched it. I thought it was cool and the name just stuck on.

2.    Ever wanted to become a prize boxer like your uncle Sandy Saddler?
I made an attempt but I have an asthmatic problem. I did some early training with my uncle, Sandy, but the asthma was a real hindrance to my progression in the sport. So that’s how that ended.

3.    What was it like learning the trade under DJ Kool Herc and Pete Jones?
I didn’t really learn under Pete Jones. When Herc was out there, ruling those amazing parties with his unique approach and sound, he inspired me a lot to do what I did. I met Pete Jones a few years after I had made it as an established artist and DJ. Back then (the 70s) things were quite cool. It was the beginning of hip-hop and we were exploring the science of moving a record back and forth to create a different kind of sound. That was a time when you could try and create a lot of new things and actually be pure and fresh. Disco was pretty big around the time so we sort of were out there to create our own hit music.   

4.    They Said It Couldn’t Be Done and Grandmaster Flash did it. You were instrumental in starting the hip hop subculture. Your crew coined the word hip-op and Cowboy was the first MC. Did it feel like you were pioneering this monster called hip hop?
Not really. I didn’t feel like I was pioneering anything. I was just out there doing stuff. I never really kicked back and though “Wow, I’m out here actually creating something new for the world to love.” I was just experimenting mixing different kinds of records – like rock records, jazz, funk, the blues, you name it. My work was just to add break beats into those records and make it something people could party to. It wasn’t anything like a sense of responsibility. It was just me having a good time and making music not realising, of course, that this was the beginning of something new.

5.    Was it a lot easier to be a hip hop artist back then? Do you look back at those days and think of yourself and the crew as more innocent than guys out there today?
Was it easier? Well, when you’re doing what you love more than anything else, it just takes care of you. Hip-hop took care of me and I take care of people. Now – now really doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change a thing. It’s just that now it’s more of a global phenomenon. There’s more places for me to go and play my music now, there’s more stuff out there for me to learn. There are so many cultures and different lifestyles out there – America might have one way of living but so does every other country out there. I’m just learning about people now and bringing joy through the music I make. 

6.    When you started out were the band’s lyrics more politically tinged or was it just a bunch of guys looking to have a good time?
I don’t know if we were trying to do politics. I don’t think so. We were just basically doing things to have a good time. I’m still doing that now – just having a good time.

7.    When did hip hop’s direction change into a message with a more violent agenda and humour bordering on the crass?
I’m not an Emcee. I’m a DJ. I play hit songs (laughs). I really can’t answer that question and do justice to it.

8.    Were disco and funk the biggest opponents to the Furious 5 or did they aid you by giving you cooler samples to work with? I mean would you consider bands like Cameo and Rufus some of your biggest opponents?
There was pop, rock, R&B, blues, funk and disco when we started out. When I went looking for records I was looking for a break beat in every genre.

“I’m just looking for the right sounds to make hit music. I play hit music for adult people – over the age of 18 only”

9.    The turntable as a musical instrument – what’s your take on that?
The average table would walk up to his/her turntable and put the arm up, put the record down and press the arm down again to play the record. I press the arm down and then grab the record while it’s spinning. I move it back and forth and mess around with it to find the sound or the part that I want. So it’s the same philosophy behind playing an instrument – just like a person plays the guitar or the drums.

10.    Where did you sample that eerie section of the kids talking to their dad in “Wheels Of Steel?”
It was from a group called The Hellers. The name of their song was “Story.” The way that song plays, you have to be able to time it so that the break comes in exactly where the girl child finishes speaking. I had to really get my game up because it was a really tough spot on the record to insert that break. So we’ve got this little kid, talking to her dad and when she ends the sentence the break just comes in – it’s a scientific process. 

11.    How did you discover techniques like “cutting” and “scratching?”
The biggest problem with experimenting with all the genres that I did was the fact that the breaks were too short. I had to figure out a way to extend time or stop time. In order to do that I had to stop and hold the record and let it go at a certain point. By using two copies of the same record, controlling how much time I wanted to stop for or extend the sound by became easier. That was the basic gist of the science behind my technique. I could take a ten second long drum break and hold it for about ten minutes. I came up with techniques like cutting and a quick mix technique called scratching through this kind of experimentation with records.

12.    Guys from the Bronx like Biz Markie got into beat boxing. Is that something you considered while starting out?
I invented the term Beat-boxing. It was a drum machine that I used to play manually. That’s where that came from. Years later, guys started doing stuff with their mouth but it was basically just me playing a drum machine manually.

13.    Do you think artists today are less imaginative in their approach to videos? You guys always used to have something funny going on in all your songs.
I play hits (laughs). I don’t know. I don’t play music from the perspective of whether it’s funny or serious. I’m just looking for the right sounds to make hit music. I play hit music for adult people – over the age of 18 only (laughs).

14.    Talking about The Message. Ever since you were credited on that song has it been a millstone around your neck that overshadows most of your work today?
No, I don’t think that’s possible. I’m a DJ and I do really well for myself. One song isn’t going to change that.

15.    You’ve sampled a lot of bands from Babe Ruth to Blondie, the Bongo Band and even Queen. What are some of your influences as a musician and what’s the one modern track you just can’t wait to mix?
Sounds – that’s what influences my work. There’s always something going on. There’s no one particular track that I want to mix. I take sounds from all over the world and mix it into one hit track. India might be the one place where I look for those sounds – I might even find them in Paris. It doesn’t matter as long as it suits me.

16.    Where were you between On The Strength and Salsoul Jam? What was the original Grandmaster of hip hop doing for 10 years?
TV and radio – I was the musical director of The Chris Rock Show on HBO and was working on my radio show as well. I toured a lot during those ten years.

17.    What’s your opinion on the violence in hip hop today? What did you think of the East Coast West Coast wars?
I think rivalry is good as long it remains friendly. Once it gets deadly it could be a problem. Someone always ends up getting hurt when it gets deadly.

18.    Tell us more about your new album The Bridge: Concept Of Culture. What was it like recording with the hip hop icons of today?
It was a wonderful experience. It gave me a chance to re-establish my credentials as a producer. I got a chance to reach out to other entities from other countries and put them all on one record. It was quite an interesting project and I’m working on a new project along similar lines now. The artists I worked with like Busta and Snoop are great in their own right.       

19.    What are some of the new possibilities that technology has opened up for your art? Do you still prefer mixing on tapes and analog devices or is digital music production the only way to go?
I work on both mediums. I still carry around my vinyls and I also use Tractor which is a mixing program. It allows me to bring a vast array of music to the different countries I play in. It’s impossible to carry around 15 boxes of records wherever I go. I could end up losing my entire collection if I carried it around. That’s why the digital aspect of music production has made life so much easier for a touring DJ like me. On the other hand I don’t know how to use a lot of the new CD mixers out there. I’m more comfortable with my turntable set.   


20.    Which of your songs do you think deserved at least a couple of Grammies?
I don’t think going around, talking about what you deserve, is cool. Whatever songs need to be awarded – somebody needs to give that to you. I don’t complain about the cards I’ve been dealt. I’m cool with whatever I’ve got.

21.    Regarding G. Phyre, your clothing line – do you focus on fashion that’s more colourful like what hip hop was like before the black jackets and blacker T-shirts?
It depends on how I dress. I dress comfortable and mix a lot of colours and brands. Sometimes you’ll even find me in a suit jacket. That’s what my fashion line is all about. It’s about dressing comfortably whether you’re in sneakers or leather hoofs. It doesn’t matter.
 
22.    What’s the plan in India? What’s it like getting people to break it down after all these years? Where does all this energy come from?
I’m here to look for sounds. I think hip-hop is a global art form. There was a song that Punjabi MC and Jay Z did together and that sound inspired me to come down. I sort of work according to my whims – I just hop on a plane and go and check out what’s hot in other places. I set up this kind of a situation with DJ Rummy to come over and check out what the scene here was like. I’m just here to jam a bit and enjoy some new sounds. I’ve got this unlimited energy to do what I do after all these years because I love what I do.