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The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

1982

Buy At Rough Trade
The Message
Album Summary

The Message is the debut studio album of American hip hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, released in October 1982 by Sugar Hill Records. It features the influential title track and hip-hop single "The Message".

Wikipedia

Rating

3.28

Votes

10346
Genres
Hip Hop

Reviews

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Sat Nov 27 2021
3

The hip hop songs It's Nasty, It's a Shames and, especially, The Message are the main event. It's great to hear a rapper dealing with substantive matters rather than rapping about getting more ass than a bedpan. A friend introduced me to funk in high school so the first track works well. Scorpio sounds dated but was it original in 1982? The distorted vocals are the same as talk box sounds that were around long before 1982. Digging a little deeper, the song does have some really cool synth rinsed percussion but the synth created laser sounds were done previously on Rock the Casbah (The King called up his jet fighters . . .). I could live without the "romantic" songs ("Dreamin" and "You Are") but I understand others like such songs. The cover photo is a work of art. I remember having a boom box that I would carry with me when I walked / took the bus to the beach.

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Fri Dec 17 2021
4

This is similar in a lot of ways to the Pharcyde album. Love the beats, although they sound a bit dated, and the lyrics are at times tragic. But the big difference is their lyrics are so plain vanilla. I mean, even songs called She's Fresh or It's Nasty are incredibly tame. Dreamin was too cheesy of an ode to Stevie Wonder although You Are got it right. But I guess all of it is better than inappropriate stuff. I just wish the album had more edge and made you think. The title track does - and that's why it is a classic - and It's a Shame too, but other tracks could do more. Scorpio was a bit too electronic at times but it might have been my favorite. All in all, I enjoyed it but it could have been 5-star if it consistently had more depth.

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Fri Aug 27 2021
5

He went to the hat store, and he bought himself a hat HA HA. HA HA.

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Wed Apr 20 2022
5

I feel like this had to be one of the most underrated rap albums from the 80s. When most people talk about rap from the 80s, I feel like the only ones that they bring up are the members from N.W.A. I can understand why, but they're not the holy grail of rap music. Most people only give a shit about two tracks they've made, and they certainly don't give a shit about their second album. This is not to downgrade their legacy since I love Dre and Ice Cube, but I think that they got better inte 90s. Here, this album is less of a gangsta-rap album and more of a jazz-rap album. Gangsta-rap is cool as shit, but I just love jazz-rap so much. This might be because I've listened to To Pimp A Butterfly so many times lately, but hearing a saxophone in a rap-track makes me cum. That's one of the best things about the album, the production is fucking amazing. On one track you either get a jazzy feel, but on the other you get a track that sounds like something that Daft Punk would make. It's just so damn refreshing hearing it, since it makes this album less dull. The signing that they do is beautiful, and it shows that the guys are super fucking talented at what they do 10/10

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Fri Dec 17 2021
4

I am a big fan of Doug Wimbish, so naturally I was looking forward to finally hearing his bass in this. It's nice to finally get the context of the other songs besides the famous song "The Message". Yeah, some of the songs are a bit dated, but they still work. The album is 40 years old, and it definitely feels it. It's not one that transgresses its years. The synths I think really hold it back, really. Still, it's a good album, one I will come back to (except them meeting Stevie Wonder, that seems kinda stalker-ish...)

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Mon Oct 18 2021
1

Das ist unglaublich scheiße

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Sat Apr 16 2022
5

Stellar album - funky, lucid, soulful. In the past ‘The Message’ felt like a novelty song - good but a one off showcase of the Furious Five - but it’s just the facade to a much more three dimensional album. Loved every song.

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Tue Oct 11 2022
5

WOOHOO! Let's party! I can deal with life, yes! I'm gonna create an agenda for this meeting, and it's gonna be awesome. I'm not going to just deal with life, naw man, i'm gonna CELEBRATE IT! My party is started ya'll, and it ain't slowin down. Rock the meeting, rock the minutes, record the zoom, you know i'm in it! What you say about no email? I sent that mail, but I'll send it again! I don't even need to forward the orig, I love you all, without a hitch! Yo! What's that now? You want to zoom again about what I just sent? Who's that there that doesn't to read? Is it an impulsive boss with more time than me? I ain't even mad you let's chit chat! You wanna rehash yo I'm good with that! But now the party's chillin', things are slowin down, it's getting weird in here but I know why now. We gotta take a break so we can get close. It's time to find love, it's time to organize notes. It's boring, true, but there's peace in here, I gotta push through just to keep you near. CELEBRATE! I got those notes collated! Details revised, tasks designated! I'm checking off boxes, I'm setting the course, I'm takin over this project with no remorse!

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Fri Oct 29 2021
4

Cet album a parfaitement accompagné mon trajet jusqu'à la gare où mon train m'attendait dimanche dernier. Comme vous le savez probablement, Robert Dimery, fondateur de la communauté des 1001 albums, m'a chargé d'enquêter sur mon compagnon d'écoute eldiocèse qu'il souçonnait d'avoir lancé plusieurs générateurs clandestins. Ses soupçons se sont avérés puisque j'ai bel et bien réussi à infiltrer l'un d'eux appelé "Pop/Rnb/FR". Robert en a été informé et une milice est actuellement en route vers le domicile d'eldiocèse.

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Wed Aug 16 2023
3

Not bad, more varied than I would have guessed due to the two somewhat incongruous soul numbers in the middle, one of which is either a weird love song to Stevie Wonder or a Rutles-level sarcastic parody. The highlights you know and can be found on any Sugarhill compliation.

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Mon Jan 08 2024
3

It's a fun album, it's significant but far from great. A lot of inspiration for the future of hip hop here. The Message is an amazing track.

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Fri Jan 26 2024
3

Started out really strong, got a little weird, then finished pretty good but fresh was the real banger of a song

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Tue Aug 17 2021
5

Grandmaster Flash- he eats gems and spits them out in song. This whole album could be just the message song and still get 5. Can see big influence for Outkast

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Mon Aug 23 2021
5

A lot different than I thought it would be based on the couple of songs I knew from it. I say that in the best possible way

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Fri Oct 15 2021
5

If you don't like this, you don't have a pulse. Also, when you realize that it basically launched the rap genre, then you have to give it a 5.

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Mon Oct 18 2021
5

So so good! Every song has such a catchy riff. Is there a movie where the protagonists start dancing uncontrollably? Maybe Beetlejuice? That's what this record does to me - just unconsciously bopping along

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Thu Oct 21 2021
5

dit is genieten hé, zeker een classic - Scorpio en the message is top

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Sat Nov 20 2021
5

Scorpio track giving me Daft Punk vibes. The second half the album felt much slower than the first few songs

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Sun Nov 21 2021
5

Seminal recording and a fascinating listen, I'm struck by how it spans the gaps between hip hop and disco, rap and soul. Much more than just the title track, and the references (both sampled and implicit) are layered in with skill, humor, and insight. This is not my genre of preference (so I'm sure I'm missing things), but this record seems the clarion call for a huge swath of contemporary music that followed. The rapping may be dated, but the record certainly isn't. The first title says it best - she's fresh!

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Wed Dec 15 2021
5

The influence that this album had not only on so many rappers but music in general can’t be understated! Come for the beats and stay for the content. This is a lecture for your ears and your mind!

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Wed Jan 12 2022
5

Crucial addition to hip hop that generates a very specific set of samples, as well as using a specific set of strong samples. Surprisingly laid back and R&B heavy.

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Sun Jan 16 2022
5

Dreamin' is so city pop! Very pleasant to listen to!

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Mon Jan 24 2022
5

Loved this album! Very fun and has a lot of style. I preferred the more upbeat songs to the ballads, but overall I really enjoyed it.

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Thu Mar 31 2022
5

Fresh, funky and just plain cool. Brilliant album

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Mon May 02 2022
5

Absolutely magnificent. Covers so many genres brilliantly.

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Wed May 25 2022
5

This is a ton of fun! Great music. Fun lyrics. Refreshing next to a lot of other hip hop and rap we’ve heard on this project. And how sweet is “Dreamin’”?! This album has me smiling!

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Mon Jul 04 2022
5

In 1982, this record was released, and was proved to be very influential on many artists that followed. Flash and the Furious Five have made their music still hold up today with great, funky beats and masterful songwriting in tracks such as "It's Nasty and the ever-so influential "The Message". Although tracks such as "Dreamin'" really don't fit the flow of the album well-enough, despite being good songs IMO. Overall, "The Message" still continues to prove its relevance and influence today, making it a great record.

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Sat Jul 09 2022
5

It's the originator of so much. Electro, proto rap, and I wasn't expecting the soul side so much. It also has the birth of conscious hip hop with the Message and it's less successful follow ups. And early turntablism with the Adventures of Grandmaster Flash. More importantly, it does all of this whole being great fun (except maybe a few outdated lines which scan quite homophobic these days). It's rare that an album which changes the course of music is this goody and fun.

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Sat Jul 09 2022
5

Classic hip hop albums some of the most influential and important tracks of the 80s kickstarted a lot of rappers careers )

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Wed Jul 13 2022
5

Already in collection, absolute masterpiece of proto-hiphop.

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Tue Dec 06 2022
5

Absolute fire! Energetic, intelligent, thought-provoking, pop and groove.

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Mon Dec 12 2022
5

I don't dance, but this album had me moving right from the start. It chills out in the middle, a decent break before the classic "The Message". A real flashback for me, I was 10 years old when this came out (I've never listened to the whole album before) and I recall having a breakdance obsession around this time. The most amazing thing to me is how fresh this still sounds. I'm usually disappointed when I dig up music that I liked when I was a kid, but this is fantastic! I didn't realize what I've been missing all this time. I'm not sure if I'm going to actually listen to this that often, but once in a while for fun... I'm definitely grateful that I heard this before I died though.

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Thu Dec 29 2022
5

Fantastiskt album. Kändes som ett stevie wonder med rap verser.

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Tue Jan 24 2023
5

Deserves to be on this list. So many familiar tones, riffs, and beats that clearly inspired later artists and samples.

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Tue Jan 31 2023
5

So I really did not expect to love this as much as I did but goddamn is every song just a bop. This thing is such a mixed bag of genres but they’re each pulled off so well and beautifully. Love the tribute to Stevie and many of the lyrics are in his style as well so it makes perfect sense. Killer album! 9/10

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Mon Feb 06 2023
5

So "Fresh"! I was amazed by how full of life and present everything on this album sounded. It was like a missing puzzle piece in my understanding of musical history. Made me want to dance; I don't ask for much more.

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Tue Feb 07 2023
5

Added to my music after listening, I previously only knew The Message but the whole album is great. It’s A Shame hits so hard even 40+ years later.

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Tue Feb 21 2023
5

Ok this is genetically engineered to make me like it. If you love your mother break in She's Fresh is hysterical. Scorpio I don't love as much. Its cool mix of humor, funk, proto hip hop, RNB.

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Tue Mar 07 2023
5

Holy cow, this is a big one. Old school hip hop before old school hip hop, truly foundational stuff. These guys were pioneers, I think one of the original groups of guys who would perform and battle at parties. It's incredible how much this genre has grown from the early days. Somehow this album feels more alive and timely than a lot of other old school hip hip albums, namely stuff like Run DMC or some Beastie Boys work, and I think it's because of the presence of genuine funk and dance-y grooves. So even though the lyricism has been infinitely surpassed in the realm of hip hop, the tunes are still fantastic. There's the excellent sample on "It's Nasty," which would be sampled later by Mariah Carey for "Fantasy." Plus the final track is a medley of sorts, sampling songs like "Good Times," Rapture" and "Another One Bites the Dust." Very cool DJ showcase. And, of course, the title track is incredible. "It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder I keep from going under." Pretty conscious stuff from such an early group. Almost every song on here grabbed me in some way, and yeah I can't help but give this a five star, it's just so strong. Some great albums lately, let's keep it going. Favorite tracks: The Message, It's Nasty, Scorpio, honestly everything but "Dreamin" got saved. Album art: Pretty simple "band" photo, nothing crazy of note. The neon looking font is decent. 5/5

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Wed Mar 15 2023
5

This was a delight. I knew it was good, but I forgot how much it was sampled in modern hip hop

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Thu Mar 16 2023
5

That's a classic if I've ever heard one...

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Mon Apr 03 2023
5

This site just gets better & better!

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Thu Apr 13 2023
5

Wasn’t able to find the entire album but the few songs I did were sooooo fun. Amaze. Legendary. I can’t believe how many things I’ve heard sampled before. This is the beginning!!!

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Mon May 01 2023
5

Sweet album that shows some of the very first steps hip hop was about to undertake and grow to. There’s a great flow throughout the songs, some songs had me smiling, others gave me the stank face. Just great stuff! 8,5 out of 10

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Sun May 14 2023
5

this album is insanely frickin fun

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Sun May 14 2023
5

THIS ALBUM IS AMAZING AND WEIRD.THE SECOND SONG HAS THE SAMPLE MARIAH CAREY WOULD USE FOR FANTASY LIKE A DECADE BEFORE.THE THIRD TRACK USES A WEIRD ROBOT FILTER AND IS GREAT.THE FOURTH TRACK IS A NICE SONG ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE NICE BECAUSE THERES A LOT OF BAD THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD BUT THE THING IS THAT ONE OF THE RAPPERS IS A MURDER SO THAT KINDA RUINS THE WHOLE SONG.THE FIFTH SONG IS A WEIRD SONG ABOUT HOW THEY DREAM TO MEET STEVIE WONDER?!?THE SIXTH SONG IS A RANDOM LOVE SONG WITH A RANDOM PART ABOUT HOW GREAT GOD IS?!?THE LAST SONG IS THE MESSAGE WHICH IS A CLASSIC I HAD HEARD BEFORE BUT NOT IN FULL.THE RAPS ARE SO PRIMITIVE I LOVE IT.THE BEATS ARE SO GOOD THOUGH ITS CRAZY.

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Tue Jun 13 2023
5

I'm half way through track 2 and I realise that my feet have been tapping. I'm gonna like this. After listening - I really did enjoy it. Not quite so keen on the slower, more luurve tracks, but they're not enough to put me off.

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Wed Jun 21 2023
5

In 1982 I opened a second-hand record shop in Newtown. I spent a lot of time in the car, checking out op-shops, auction houses, junk shops, searching for stock. The title track of this album was a big part of that year’s soundtrack. By the 1990’s there was a fantastic mural painted on a wall in Enmore that included the words “It’s like a jungle sometimes”. That song has been so loved & so influential. And it still works for me every time I hear it. I’d never heard this album before, and I wasn’t familiar with most of the other tracks, although I well remember It’s Nasty (long before I realised it was a Tom Tom Club sample at the heart of the track). Scorpio is outstanding. Love the Stevie Wonder cover followed by the Stevie tribute. Just shows how loved & influential his music was for these guys. The vocals on this album are immaculate. A great, great record.

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Fri Jun 30 2023
5

One of the first hip-hop albums I ever heard or owned. Soooooo good! Funk, rap, R&B, rock, dance, electronica...it's all woven together superbly well and delivered with punch and fun, yet also brings up the grit and rawness, too. I still catch myself singing "The Message" at times all the years later.

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Mon Jul 24 2023
5

This album so over delivers that even the self sabotage of a love song to Stevie Wonder can't steal a star.

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Mon Oct 16 2023
5

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five were at the crossroads of funk, disco, and hip hop. Grandmaster Flash was a true innovator. Check out Wikipedia because he is credited as the inventor of the slipmat and techniques such as backspin, punch phrasing and scratching. This album was very cool to listen to as it was the birth of a whole new kind of music.

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Sun Oct 22 2023
5

This album was awesome. Several iconic moments that have been endlessly sampled, this group had a monumental influence on the hip-hop scene of the last 40+ years. 5/5

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Sun Nov 12 2023
5

The song The Message is a classic. But I had no idea about the range on the rest of this album. It has classic hip hop club songs and also some soulful piano tracks too!

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Wed Nov 22 2023
5

Iconic. Legendary. It really seemed like all of rap came from this album. How inventive and fresh sounding even still today. Just wow.

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Tue Dec 05 2023
5

10/10 one of my favorite hip hop albums

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Thu Dec 07 2023
5

Back when rap/hip hop was fun (before gangsta), plus bonus Stevie Wonder tribute. Great stuff!

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Tue Dec 12 2023
5

Ah, Scorpio Show no shame Shake it, baby He is DJ Flash and he came here to give you a blast And we are the Furious Five and we're rocking, shocking all the way live Show no shame Shake it Shake it, baby Ah, show no shame Don't be shy, girl Show no shame Higher baby Higher now Great album. The Message is the main thing, but the rest is solid. 5/5

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Wed Dec 13 2023
5

Iconic and still making waves today. Unabashedly silly at times, but that only works in its favor.

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Wed Jan 10 2024
5

Starts and ends with cool hip hop, but the soul middle was unexpected. Great album.

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Wed Jan 31 2024
5

I've heard about this album in the history textbooks, but not sure I've heard it with my ears. It starts off a lot more funky than I expected with "She's Fresh" and that keeps on going into "It's Nasty" which features a sample I've definitely heard before--probably in several other places. A couple albums ago on the 1001 journey I had Ice Cube's the Predator, and I can't believe I had a thought that this album would be somewhat similar based on reputation. The Furious Five are so much more fun. The title track was a neat journey and kind of a surprise considering how much it is referenced later on. Overall I had a lot of fun with this album. Favorite track: "It's Nasty" 5/5

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Mon Feb 26 2024
5

Legendary and funky. You can't deny its significance on contemporary grooves.

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Thu Feb 29 2024
5

Gotta give props to the Grandmaster for creating the genre of hip hop as we know it today through his sound manipulation of cutting and scratching vinyl. I also appreciate that the topics are of higher social consciousness and actually hold important messaging unlike most modern popular hip hop.

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Thu Feb 29 2024
5

Great album, the energy in the opening tracks is infectious and the lyrics in "The Message" are moving.

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Wed Mar 06 2024
5

Everyone should listen to this at least once in their lives. Fantastic.

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Tue Oct 06 2020
4

This was the only album released by the original Furious Five. Its not the first hip hop album (that is another discussion but arguably its Rappers Delight by Sugarhill Gang, from 1979), but its damn early and it sure is one of the more important rap albums to be released. And the album cover is as cool retro as it gets.

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Sat Jul 03 2021
4

8/10. This album is all over the place, but generally in a good way. I was not a big fan of "Scorpio". "You Are" was almost like a slow bit of an Earth, Wind, and Fire song. "The Message" was great, but "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheel of Steel" was mostly just annoying, which is sad because it had such a fun name.

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Sat Jul 03 2021
4

Not my favorite style but undoubtedly a bop. Beginning and end were strong. 8

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Sat Jul 03 2021
4

This had a few jams, especially the first and last tracks, and the overlap of funk and hip hop is pretty interesting. As an album I don’t think this is super strong but you can’t deny its place in the development of hip hop. 7/10

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Thu Aug 05 2021
4

El disco está bien, tiene unas 3 o 4 canciones pegajosas, pero lo que me llamo la atención es la historia detrás de la canción The Message, todo el contenido social y cómo revolucionó el rap y el hip hop, solo por eso le doy un poco más de calificación de lo que le hubiera dado. Aún no encuentro en donde pasaban la música de esa canción en unos anuncios, creo que en MTV o VH1

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Mon Aug 16 2021
4

actually pretty good. didn't feel like it dragged on (minus the last song). 4.2 / 5

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Tue Aug 31 2021
4

In college I wrote a paper about The Message. It made me appreciate conscious hip hop

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Thu Sep 09 2021
4

Very good. Bluesier than expected, and top-heavy with 'The Message' but good!

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Tue Sep 14 2021
4

Wanted to give it 5 stars, but couldn't quite get there. Refreshing, fun album.

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Tue Sep 14 2021
4

This album is about as close as I can get to a 5 without giving it a 5. It’s hard not to get up and start popping and locking with (most) this album on. There’s some songs on here that really slap, first one and The Message in particular, The Message being one of my personal favorite songs. Hip Hop as a whole, especially Dr. Dre G-Funk and Africa Bombata, owe Grandmaster flash for pioneering the sound. The Adventures if GMF is an epic break near buffet, makes me wish I could’ve experienced one of those early dance parties at the birth of Hip Hop. This is a surprisingly eclectic album, beyond samples I heard some good instrumentation including, cello, solid piano, electronic music, crooning, rhyming and skat. Not only is the album an early hip-hop pioneer but I’d say the eclecticism is also ahead of its time. It’s funny how they are so positive in contrast to more modern hip hop, they rap about monogamous relationships and how bad drugs are, surprisingly refreshing. Though there’s a couple soft boy songs that flop in the middle if the album, mostly good, but the lyrics just kind of blow, take you out of it, most specifically the very weird ode to Stevie Wonder in the style of Stevie Wonder. Those killed the 5 for me, but damn, still a great album. A-

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Wed Sep 22 2021
4

The production is honestly remarkable.

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Wed Sep 22 2021
4

Funky, feels innovative even though released in 82

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Fri Oct 01 2021
4

OMG. I don't think I'd ever listened to this full album before. What a joy to find the diversity of tracks on here.

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Sun Oct 17 2021
4

Huge range of influential sound and styles. Disco, hip hop, r&b, electronica, soul. Some classic beats (Scorpio/message) and verses (message) as well some epic mixes (Adventure). Scorpio (higher/lower), message

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Wed Oct 20 2021
4

Early hip-hop. Really wish I had listened to this genre more when I was younger. I guess that's why I'm doing this project though.

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Thu Oct 21 2021
4

Deze kende ik al hoor, the get down brought me here, genieten

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Fri Oct 29 2021
4

Performance remarquable de cette troupe d'uluberlu, qui réussit a faire de son tube majeur le plus mauvais son de l'album. C'est un petit peu comme la parodie Colors de robpanel, si vous voyez ce que je veux dire...

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Thu Nov 04 2021
4

One of the early true hip hop albums still stands up today - you can hear it’s influence across so much great music and The Message remains an iconic classic track. Only the terrible “dreamin” holds this back from a five for me

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Thu Sep 30 2021
4

An odd album some stevie wonder influenced soul and even some gospel. It was very preachy and found its voice in the awesome message. I enjoyed it I liked the view of 80s New York ghetto and hearing all those influences played out before hiphop got really going.

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Fri Nov 12 2021
4

It's funky and catchy and I like it more than I expected.

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