The Message

I'm not an expert on hip hop and it's not my preferred genre, but there is a joy in this music that is largely absent from hip hop today.

Funky fresh. Rap, Funk, rnb all rolled into one. So much to discover

This one surprised me! I really didn’t expect to like this so much because I’m not usually a fan of hip-hop. That said, I preferred the first couple songs and the last couple songs; the stuff in the middle wasn’t my thing.

Funky as can be, bass lines are incredible, but for me I really only liked half the entire album. Overall sounds incredible and was an easy listen

Funky

Classic, still (sadly) relevant, and insightful. Really interesting to hear from the start of rap and hip-hop, and an album that was an inspiration to so many throughout the years since.

3.5⭐️

On the surface it seems saturated with cheese but it was actually a very enjoyable listen if you apply the trusty time, space and place lens Obviously ground breaking stuff in terms of production methods. Pleasantly surprised by the more soulful numbers, especially Dreamin'.

This album is old school hip hop and funk. It has the sampling of other songs with the record scratching and everything. Then they add their own lyrics to it. The song to Stevie Wonder was fun. There are other songs that were later used in rap songs. I liked the album and listened to it again right after I finished it.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: The message, Message II

Fun album, well outside my normal sphere. Interesting to hear how many sections I recognize from other songs - be it sampling something from here or both tracks sampling something else

Feels slow and old school these days, but clear how early it was and what it led to. I expected it to be more rap through and through, but the interludes of more R&B stuff did a lot to help break this up and keep it interesting to me. 3.4 rounding up.

4.5

There are some albums that transcend even the music recorded on them based on their historic impact. This is one of them. It’s just too bad that there are some awful clunkers in the middle of it.

Whew. Excellent album. And now I know where the sample for "Rapper's Delight" came from. For an album made 40 years ago this sound still feels very fresh, aside from the occasional synth misfire ("Scorpio" is an embarrassment imo). But for every misfire on this album there are about 3 classics. An excellent experience overall, well worth the listen. Fave is the title track but "She's Fresh" deserves an honorable mention for the fresh, funky sound.

This album is fun but holy shit it is just pure chaos! Every song has like fifty different shifts and it's wild as fuck to listen to. I'm kind of a fan, really. A lot of these sounds would've been fresh as fuck 40 years in the past. They were really forward-thinking imo.

I really enjoyed the sound of the old-school hip hop here. I could imagine break dancers performing as I listened. Now, when the slower tracks came on, I was a bit startled and less impressed. That dreaming about Stevie song was a little strange...

I loved the fun party tracks but didn't love so much the earnest serious tracks in the middle. Overall, a good time!

Good God, this album is a delight!

Simply the fact that every song on this album has been used as a sample for future songs shows how impactful this is

So close to a 5, this is arguably a genre starting/defining album.

This is hot stuff. Funky, fun, and "fresh." Bruno Mars owes it all to "The Message." Can't fault it for anything except Scorpio, but I assume this is some kind of impressive DJ stuff, I guess. This is a classic otherwise and checks all the boxes. And I hope Stevie reached out to them. The Message is Fire!

Superalbum melangeant bien des styles, the message est vraiment super et Mene le rap vers çe qu’il estaujourd,hui. C’estle highligth de l’àbum. 4

The group handles a surprising variety of musical material for a hip-hop crew of their vintage, but there's a salient historical takeaway on here, too: The genre was dance music first, and here it's plainly that, though information-dense with the additional voices on top.

Did not feel the urge to skip any songs.

The album is essential for The Message. A few other tracks are very good (I like Scorpio), but it really is all about The Message. If you were in NYC in 1982 this was inescapable.

For just The Message, I’m tempted to give this album a 5, but the rest of it is just fine. It is an interesting mix of R&B and early rap/hip hop, but that one song is brilliant.

I can hear the influence these guys had on so many other songs- just not my jam yesterday

Funky R&B. It’s a fun album

This album was a jam!

Great groove! I loved that this album came out in 2010 but had sounds of the 70s funk, 90s R&B, and more modern sounds.

The title track basically created the rap genre for old white guys like me. The rest of the album left me cold as I waited impatiently to hear those famous words; "don't push me cuz I'm close to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head", sung in that staccato rhythm. 4 🌟 just for that amazing song.

Reminds me of my days at the roller rink.

"Dreamin'" is so, so bad. But "The Message" is so, so good.

Really funk mix of funk, soul and old school hip hop.

Surprised by how much variety is on this record. A solid listen from the boys

This album has a little bit of everything. Very interesting listen to an obviously highly influential album.

Spotify was missing half the tracks.

fooonky

Psychedelic guitar rock

Classic hip hop… always delivered with a healthy slice of funk and electronica!

8 tracks…again. The title track is iconic and you can hear the influence and samples stolen from it. Solid soul/r&b album. A great precursor to hip hop

Fresh, Funky, and surprisingly soulful. A few tracks are weaker, but the strong ones are STRONG. And this isn't even mentioning how groundbreaking it was!

I'm not really a hip-hop or rap fan, at least not current modern rap. But early 80's beginnings of rap and hip-hop is prime listening. Especially The Message. That song is beyond influential. It is the critical doctrine for any aspiring rappers and it is still completely relevant today. Banger.

catchy Rapper's Delight vibes, but a bit less hokey. the source of a few monumental samples/easter eggs

My son was so into this when he was on middle school. Circa 2006, he is a strange kid. Anyway solid 4

Seminal. Must admit I was very surprised to hear the non-rap tracks on this album but The Message is still amazing. Not sure I'd come back to listen to the whole thing as an album though so 4.5 I guess.

OMG I loved this. Some of the slow jamz weren't the greatest, but god bless 'em for making a song where they sing about wanting to meet Stevie Wonder. Can you imagine being him and hearing that for the first time? hahaha. I wish YouTube existed then just for the reaction video.

Admittedly, the hiphop scene in the 1980s seemed much more diverse in its varied styles. The debate had more than one angle, and which coast it was from seemed mostly irrelevant. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five are excellent storytellers. This album is a testament to how that can reach a broad listenership. Light-hearted at times, honest (but not brutally) and down-to-earth at times, this is a well-rounded album. The Message is exactly that, a message. This type of positive messaging merged with realities and aspires for better is something that post-80s hiphop seems to be missing. The evolution of rap in particular has been more honest in regards to the realities, but what it doesn't do that Grandmaster Flash manages to accomplish (e.g. New York, New York) is that such realities need to be told, but what this song manages to do is provide a pathway by educating the conditions of the circumstances. The real listener to the storied realities of that song can see the escape from falling into the dangers of the streets. Great album, sadly the sentiment of its greatness is nostalgic only.

There is a little bit of cool funk, rap and soul mixed in with some moments of cheesiness that could be a Zappa style send up. It's a great listen.

This was great! Another one I'd never listened to but always knew I had to, fantastically funky

Was unaware that this wasn’t only a precursor to modern hip hop and mixed beats but R&B as well

Ahead of its time. Lyrically relevant, Every track a classic and copied mercilessly.

Really wanted to give this a 5,but outside of the well known tunes it's not really listenable.

OK, I was prepared to respect this album and the group for lighting the fire that lit up "the other guys and gals" in my 8th grade class in 1979. And I was prepared to re-appreciate the kitsch and glam-rock aspect the Five brought to the disco-rap transition period. And that was about it. But after the 3rd or 4th repeat listen, I found myself actually digging it deep. It's a piece of history,but somehow as fresh as a sunrise in Central Park. Can you dig it?

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

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.

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

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...

Funky in 1983!

Nice and funky

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

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.

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

Enjoyed the great range of styles, never really listened to the whole album before and it was well worth it

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.

Funky, feels innovative even though released in 82

The production is honestly remarkable.

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-

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

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

Stone cold classic

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Funky but inconsistent. 8

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.

Gear: Aür Audio Aurora Artwork: 😎📻🏙️ Production: 😌👂🧈 Music: 🔥💯🤔 Rating: ✉️✉️✉️/5

A highly significant album that goes on to influence a whole music genre. I enjoyed listening to this a whole lot more than some of the other later hip/hop and rap albums that are on this list. The Message is still bloody brilliant isn’t it.

boreng

Banging sample for track 2. Enjoyed but didn’t go crazyyyy for the title track’s reimagining of subterranean homesick blues

Very mixed. The message is fantastic, of course.

The middle dips a bit but good overall!

Solid songs, some definite hits as far as beats go. All in all, enjoyable and super fun

Having a track list that includes one of the most influential rap songs of all time might be the main reason this album made the cut, but damn is it iconic. I loved how different this album is from modern rap releases, really has a bit of everything in it. Some parts aged like milk, other parts have been sampled and used for forty years, there really is no in between, besides my rating.

Cool beats and some notable samples.

Seminal rap album, from the era when I could more happily listen to it. It is never going to be my favourite but pretty good.

This album is a better artifact than it is an album. It’s a pivotal moment in hip hop history. Caught between disco and some new form of R&B it paved the way for hip hop but it sound very dated and the rhymes aren’t great. It should be appreciated for what it is but I will very likely never listen to this again.

Просто хороший діско реп. Єдина проблема це пісні з 4-ої по 7-му - на них альбом просідає. А так норм. Оцінка: висока 6/низька 7

She's Fresh - 3/5 It's Nasty - 4/5 Scorpio - 1/5 It's a Shame - 3/5 Dreamin - 2/5 You Are - 2/5 The Message - 5/5 Average score: 2.9/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ interesting blend of hip-hop and funk, although for an album showcasing rap, i would've expected more rapping (this is actually more of a funk/disco album than anything else). i think the album is sort of hit-or-miss and not very cohesive at times overall, as corny as this sounds lyrically by today's standards, i can respect the fact that these guys are the pioneers of rap as we know it. The Message holds up fairly well today at least

The title track of this album was the rolling stone record of the year and was pretty much the first of its kind in terms of rap being used to articulate social issues. However this album is not just a rap album - in addition to using extensive samples of 'Genius of love' (Tom tom club) and 'It's a shame' (Spinners / Stevie W & Syreeta) we have some vocal solo numbers (one appears to be an ode to Stevie Wonder). I must confess to liking more aspects of this album than I expected.

Had some okay moments. But I’m not really a huge fan of that really electronic sounding early 80s hip hop. Liked “The Message”.

Production still sharp, fresh and exciting, even if dated. Block party rockers.

3/5

iconique 3/5

Catchy, easy listening. Fun! 3.5 rounded down to 3.

A good slice of old school hip hop. The opening four tracks are great climaxing with the irresistible’It’s a Shame’. But then ‘Dreamin’ and ‘ You Are’ take us down a very different road and not one i enjoyed before the stonewall classic ‘The Message’ steadies the ship. For the main it felt like this album was a 4/5, but 2 duff tracks out of 7 mean this cant be anything above a 3

The godfathers of hip-hop for a reason, this is a solid album. Incredible samples from such a vast array of artists, when the concept was still a novelty. It was sharp and concise, and didn’t need to be full of interludes or anything else to beef it up. “The Message” is obviously the standout, and nothing really tops that. “Scorpio” is awful, and I could’ve probably done without the ode to Stevie Wonder (as much as I love him), but the rest I thought were decent.

Fresh: brilliantly funky bass, some brass stabs and the word "fresh" said about 80 times. It's Nasty (Genius of Love): so quickly into a sample that makes me want to sing a completely different thing (Mariah Carey). Kazoos!! Scorpio: the robots are taking over. I thought this track was essentially pointless. It's A Shame: more sampling problems for my brain where I don't think of the original, or Grandmaster Flash (this time it's Monie Love). I liked the lyrical content and whoever was doing the response part of the singing. There was too much scratching for my tastes. Dreamin': weird. Feels like it should be on a completely different album. Enough that it made me do a double take. You Are: boring. The Message: clearly the standout, great fun and, once again a great bass line. Don't. Push. Me. Cos. I'm. Close. To. The. Edddddge! 3/5

The sound is very dated, but the music is timeless. A lot of tracks from this era are almost comical, but this album is still a good listen today.

This included much more kinda soul than I was expecting from Grandmaster flash. Definitely wasn't sold on that stuff, nor was I sold on the robotic voice type thing going on in a couple of tracks. But, there are some really good tracks, that certainly were influential on hip hop l. The message is clearly iconic, I liked new York, new York too. I'm going to say 3

interesting how disco and funk heavy this is

Some classics on here and great bass on the first track but a lot of the album was inessential

Only five songs available on Spotify, and only one on YouTube.

Some fun, some weird. Had to skip the robot songs but otherwise kinda fun to listen to!

as one of the first hip hop albums the production clearly sounds dated but i enjoyed it nevertheless 3/5

Kinda fun and snazzy. The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel is so interesting.

Dont have much to say about this one. Standard

Fun hip-hop record. Some of it is pretty basic but tracks like She's Fresh, It's a Shame and The Messenger are the standouts.

First things first, I don't dispute this album belongs here. I'm not an expert on the genre, but I understand that this album is fundamental to the development of rap music, and it's always worth going to the roots. That said, this is an album that is probably best appreciated for historical reasons. To me, about four and a half decades later, it sounds like a stage musical interpretation of rap music. It lacks the grit that you'll find in later acts. Musically, it feels like while there are some elements you'll later see, like turntable scratching, there's more of a soul/funk/electro thing going on. Scorpio is straight-up electro, with vocoder vocals and everything. “The Message” is definitely the highlight here and totally stands up as a classic.

And the message is…. robots?? I cant get over how many songs The Message EV inspired?? THE HAMILTON SAMPLEEEEEEEE (why he even brings the thunder!!!! Ha ha ha HA) and bought to catch anothaaaa flight.

Tampoco estaba, pero la rola es icónica

It's a classic, I didn't need the love song to Stevie that was kinda cringe 😬. I knew the main rap songs going in, mostly enjoyed the rest

Obviously sounds dated now but it’s easy to see how this was so influential. The title track still goes, and the sample-heavy closing track holds up for its age.

Only really familiar with The Message previously so this album was only really about 20% of what I was expecting. The rest of the album was (to my ears) was not especially interesting. I do recognise that this is often hailed as the birth of hip hop so it’s not surprising that’s number of the tracks felt muddled and rather forgettable. As a standalone record, I was somewhat disappointed.

3.5

Ihan mukavaa kasariräppiä.

It might be dated but damn does it funk and groove whoooeeee. Also raise you hand if you also had NO idea half this album was Stevie wonder soul?

You would not expect this music in 1982, quite avant garde ! It's nasty and The message outstanding, the rest is a bit funky but also not really interesting. 3.5

Has it's ups and downs in the first half but finishes on some strong songs towards the end. The Message and Message II are excellent tracks. 3.5

A pretty damn fun album with lots of energy and cheesy charm. A good bit of variety too and it was cool to hear parts of songs that I've heard sampled in modern hip hop. The were definitely some misses in here too though that I enjoyed enough in the context of the album, but didn't go back to all that much. Also my excitement at hearing that sample in the last song that I originally heard in the Soldier Boy song can not be understated lol. 3/5

As someone who was only really familiar with White Lines, this was definitely a fun vibe to start my Tuesday morning with. Probably not something I'd listen to again but it felt like summer in music form which is always a delight.

She's Fresh 3.3 It's Nasty 3.7 Scorpio 3.2 It's a Shame (Mt. Airy Groove) 3.4 Dreamin' 3.5 You Are 3.2 The Message 4 Score: 3.471428571

Yesterday, I listened to 50 Cent’s debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", arguably the low point of the 1001 Albums Challenge. Today, I moved on to a true rap classic: "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. When the title track was released as a single, it was revolutionary because, yes, there had already been “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, but this was the real catalyst for rap music’s commercial breakthrough. The music was groovy and absolutely danceable, and the lyrics were critical, political and socially conscious. For a moment, it seemed as though rap was the ideal medium for criticising the dire state of political injustice in the world. But, as we all know, the music has since developed in a completely different direction. When I listen to the album "The Message" today, I’m struck by how inconsistent it is. On the one hand, there are critical, highly political tracks such as "The Message" and, in the Expanded Edition released much later, the non album single "New York, New York". On the other hand, the album contains a lot of filler tracks and the catchy electro track "Scorpio". There are a plenty of scratch and mixing and sampling sounds from Grandmaster Flash, as well as a somewhat bizarrely banal R&B tribute to Stevie Wonder. In short, the singles are the absolute highlights of the album; unfortunately, the rest is rather dated pop that bands like Kool & the Gang were doing better back then. Grandmaster Flash and rapper Melle Mel are undoubtedly historically significant, but this album is neither consistent nor consistently convincing. A rating averaging between ★★☆☆☆ and ★★★★★ amounts to no more than ★★⯪☆☆.

It's aight

Album #93, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Message, ⭐⭐⭐ It doesn’t get much more old school than this. I can’t really think of any hip hop albums that came before it, though someone will probably correct me on that. I’d never actually listened to this album before, despite being a big fan of hip hop in general, so this was a really interesting listen. For one thing, it’s a lot less fun than I thought it was going to be before I put it on. It’s actually a pretty serious album with serious themes for the most part. It’s also much more of a soul record than I expected. Especially those two tracks in the middle, “Dreamin’” and “You Are”, the former being a soppy love song to Stevie Wonder, and the latter basically being a soppy love song to Jesus Christ. They’re alright songs, but they kind of derail the momentum and the overall style of the album a bit for me. I imagine those tracks are probably more Furious Five than Grandmaster Flash. The album does finish very strongly though, with the title track, which is by far the best song on the whole thing. It absolutely deserves its place on this list. You can really hear the future of hip hop in it. You can hear all the different directions the genre would eventually go. Even though the themes are heavy, musically it’s not a particularly heavy album. It’s very much that early 80s hip hop sound. And while I’m really glad I heard it, and I do think it’s an important and worthwhile listen, I don’t really see myself going back to it much. It feels like a blueprint or a proof of concept more than anything else. And while we should all be grateful that it exists, hip hop evolved very quickly afterwards into something much more engaging, much more tuneful, and much more interesting to me personally.

Cracking album, great tracks and social commentary. A worthy addition. 3.5 stars

5/5 viktighet, 3/5 personligt nöje

Klassisk och med lite uppfriskande stil jämfört med många av de andra inflytelserika rapparna.

Uppfriskande med en rappare som inte är så vulgär.

Barely scrapes three stars off the back of the title track. The rest is filler, but there was some interesting tracks I guess. It veers from electro-funk, through Stevie Wonder, there's a bit that sounds like The Beastie Boys, then more electro.

Malcolm McLaren wish he would've made this.

Opening with "She's Fresh" had me worried this album was a one-note wonder. I could not have been less prepared for the journey ahead. A rad PSA rap about sharing? Check. Robot song that lasts forever? Double check. The love song about Stevie Wonder? Brilliantly funny. Don't shoot the messenger - this message is a fun one.

I was surprised about how much I didn't fully get into this album. It seems to be such an iconic sound/band but I just didn't feel it. The track 'The message' was standout.

When listening I kept catching parts that were sampled elsewhere. Massively influential even if it hasn't aged super well.

It's a curious album and one that I believe was a little thrown together, an early attempt of the genre to transition into the album format. Labelled as hip-hop but really it's that mixed with soul, funk and R&B. And whilst it was important in the shaping of hip-hop, particularly in the social commentary aspect of it, I feel that the song The Message is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that respect. That song is a classic though!

Not my thang but still petty cool

Came for the title track, stayed for, well, the title track. "The Message" doesn't have much rap on it; that's understandable, since hip-hop was a developing genre at the time. That's why the title track is a musical game-changer. Half of the tracks are plain soul and funk songs like "You Are" and "Dreamin'". I expected more from a monumental album in hip-hop history. 3 stars for "The Message".

no pude escuchar todo el disco pero el tema que escuche csrrea

She's Fresh - 3/5 It's Nasty (Genius of Love) - 3.5/5 Scorpio - 4/5 It's a Shame (Mt. Airy Groove) - 4/5 Dreamin' - 3.5/5 You Are - 3/5 The Message - 3/5 Message II (Survival) - 3/5 New York, New York - 3/5

I believe that this one was very influential for hip hop, and one of the first records from this genre. I appreciate that a lot, it was very funky and groovy, but I can't say I liked it a lot. It was ok. Props for the influence though!

Really enjoyed about half of it, didn’t care much for the rest

The main song is a stone-cold classic that makes you feel like you are walking through a gritty 1980s city. But the rest of the record suddenly switches to a goofy, old-school dance party. It is like ordering a deep, serious documentary and getting a cheesy disco cartoon instead.

Some really great tunes on here balanced out by some really uninventive rap.

Nice to have different styles of songs on one album, but I prefer the funkier ones.

So new york

What I would expect early hip hop to sound like

This was certainly different than what I expected. It had lot of variety and the R&B vibe at points sounded pretty good. I would not seek it out to listen again, but certainly better than some.

It’s kinda fun and funky hip-hop but not reallly for me. Still, objectively it’s at least a 3.

The earlier parts of the album, especially those with voice through synthesizer (Scorpio) and places where they tried to sing (Dreamin', You Are) are not great, but memories of my youth emerge with It's Nasty, the title track and New York, New York. Those showcase the smooth rapping of Melle Mel and the artistry of Grandmaster Flash on the wheels of steel. If they had just featured those, the album would be a 5 for me.

This was a wild ride. Recognizable samples (Genius of Love, The Message), corny lyrics (I dream about you, Stevie!), mixed bag of musical styles (rap, boy band jazzy serenades, 80’s club dance beats, serenades). I can see the influence this album likely had on music, but it’s not really something I’d go out of my way to listen to again. (3)

I found this pretty fun! More varied song-to-song than I expected. Maybe a little corny at times, but I enjoyed it.

Decent album with some iconic tracks.

This was a lot more fun than I was expecting and there were some songs I hadn’t heard in a while. Very close to a 4 for me

Title track is great here, maybe like one other song is good too but the rest of this album is boring af, title track saves it from being a 2 star though

Epic

Udmærket underholdt. Jeg kendete dem af navn, og hørt musikken samplet i masser af moderne musik.

Hmm. Mere funk og soul end rap. Titelnummeret er en klassikker, resten svinger mellem sjovt og ligegyldigt.

Poeeeeeh, kijk ik ben groot fan van hiphop. Het is al jaren mijn meest gedraaide genre. En is dit dus een album dat je MOET horen voor je doodgaat? Ja 1000%, al is het maar omdat dit gewoon echt het prille begin is van hiphop zoals we dat kennen. Neemt echter niet weg dat dit grotendeels de hippity hoppity hiphop is waar ik gewoon niet zo'n fan van ben. Althans dat was mijn vermoeden, maar eerlijk? De beats zijn wel echt ontzettend funky, dat is wel een leuke verrassing! En zelfs zonder luisteren kan ik je al vertellen dat The Message(het nummer) een classic is en 1 van de belangrijkste nummers ooit gemaakt. De lyrics vallen me ook ontzettend mee, ja de flow is wel echt nog basic, maar de teksten gaan wel echt ergens over en holy fuck, Scorpio klinkt echt als de meest futuristische shit die OOIT heb gehoord. Echt heel vet! Ga wel echt stuk om de liefdesverklaring aan Stevie Wonder. Dat is echt een stuk vooruitstrevender dan ik had verwacht! Dusja, ik ben positief verrast door dit album. Je merkt dat het echt vroege hiphop is, de flow is vooral op zo'n beetje elk nummer hetzelfde. Duidelijk dat Rakim nog niet volledig was doorgebroken hier. Grandmast Flash en The Furious Five hadden ook duidelijk een hoop dat ze wilden bespreken, bijna elk nummer is meer dan 5 minuten lang. Een soort prograp if you will. Dat zorgt er wel voor dat de boodschap voor mij soms een beetje verloren gaat. Ja ik ben het er mee eens en ja de beats zijn kneiterfunky, maar door de flow worden de nummers eentonig en lopen ze in elkaar over. Een must-listen voor fans van hiphop en mensen die zich willen verdiepen in een stukje muziekgeschiedenis? Absoluut. Een heerlijk album wat met vlag en wimpel de tand des tijds heeft doorstaan? Mwah, dat niet helemaal... FAVO: Its nasty, Dreamin', The message

Some surprisingly not hip-hop songs in this album. I like the beats, but the rapping can be a bit dry. Lyricism is fun, though

Just makes you want to groove and feel the vibe. And really we should start gassing others up just like they gassed Stevie Wonder.

2.5

I wanted to give this album a much higher score only because I think "The Message" is one of the three pillars of rap music (along with "Rapper's Delight" and "The Breaks"). The problem with this album the three singles, which were all released before the album, are quite frankly the only good songs on here. "It's Nasty" is a less social conscience predecessor to "The Message", and "Scorpio" with the famous robot vocoder sound that was in some of early rap that was cool for the time. Even though I still like it really dates it. After that quite frankly nothing it's worth a repeated listen. Plus this has one of the worst songs i've had to listen to on this 1001 project and that's the ode to Stevie Wonder, "Deamin'" which is another level of bad. I know after the label saw they had hit on their hand and wanted to capitalize on an album they made them quickly throw this together. But this album as a whole it's not really all that good but I have to give it props for at least "The Message" which, as far as I'm concerned, stands the test of time as one of the greatest rap songs ever written. (5.9) ★★½

Only the title track is essential, but that track is really good. 3 stars

The Message is gold. Absolute gold. Pure timeless synthy jamtastic slice-of-life socio-political commentary that still resonates today. “A child is born with no state of mind but if it’s Billy Joel it’ll have a New York State Of Mind. If they do 1001 they’ll be pleased to see Timeless by Goldie cause it has State Of Mind on track 3” The rest doesn’t hold up nearly as well but is still kind of fun in a ropey old-skool kinda way. Vocoder doldrums Scorpio is like EWF Let’s Groove without the Groove. Dreamin’ is the soul/RnB equivalent to ELO’s Beatles Forever in terms of how mushy and fawning a tribute it is, in this case to Stevie Wonder. That leaves She’s Fresh, It’s A Shame and Genius Of Love-sampling It’s Nasty as the more mid-range hip-hoppier cuts. 3.5 stars or should that be ha’s? A ha ha ha.

The Message звичайно легендарна пісня. Що по звуку, що лірично. Але сам альбом дуже дивний, якісь р'н'б номери, очікуване електро, але не те щоб прям класне. Як альбом, це не дуже добре постаріло.

Rap has come a long way. That's all I can say.

This is a tough one for me. 'The Message' is such a classic track. The rest of the album is all over the place, mostly stuff I wasn't into. It's hard not to recognize the importance of this album in music history though.

Each song is different from the last. This is an obviously early rap album which the Wiki claims to be experimenting in figuring out the album format with this emerging genre of music. Some of the tracks just absolutely do not hit. "Scorpio" just did not do it for me despite the Spotify plays being the third highest played on the album. Having tracks like "It's a Shame" transition into "Dreamin'" was also a hilarious transition in tone. Some of the rap flow is very clearly improv which makes this album feel real and alive, but also it carries with it an awkwardness. When I finally got to the album's namesake song "The Message" it was like a bucket of cold water waking me up from a nap. This song is fantastic and stands as this album's strongest song. It's powerful, unashamed, and a robust commentary on life in the 1980s inner cities for black Americans. This song alone brings up the whole album. Overall 6/10

Favorite track(s): It's Nasty, Scorpio, The Message

Definitivamente es el disco más divertido desde que empecé el juego, muy muy disfrutable y con varios temas clásicos del hip hop. Tiene un par de canciones R&B que le suman mucho. Me encantó!

Best Song: The Message. Iconic song with great samples and a great rhythm. Worst Song: It's Nasty (Genius of Love). This is the most dated of the marching/stomping style of rhythm that characterized this era. Overall: Maybe it does sound a bit dated, but goddamn if it isn't fun. Not something I could imagine listening to very often, but still a great jam while it's on.

Title track is legendary, the rest of the album doesn't match it but you do see the roots of over 40 years of hip-hop that came after it.

Why is every song unavailable bro. Oh wait what is gracing my ears?? What is this melody?? Gives me downtown vibes. Yeah bang speak on it. Ooh what is this beat. Yeah ok. Get funky. What the fuck. I honestly don't know how to feel about this actually. Favourite: Scorpio Least favourite: Message II (Survival)

It starts off with some really cool funky beats and then they give you some disco and some electro and you start thinking to yourself "hey! this is pretty fun!" only for them to then betray your trust by making you listen to the worst Stevie Wonder tribute song you've heard in your entire life and then immediately right after a song about accepting our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into our hearts. With that being said, The Message is the best song in the entire album and you should go listen to it.

The thing that stands the test of time is the production. So many recognizable beats and the ones that are new to me are electric and moving. Talented lyricists but some of the performance and style seem a bit hokey today. Enjoyable album, regardless.

Fun sampling. Later stuff better. Has 'The Message which is probably what you will recognize

I think it’s cool for its time and genre. 6/10

Если со стороны хип-хопа заходить, то это больше музейный экспонат, чем хоть сколько-то интересный альбом для прослушивания в 2к26. К тому же это еще не прям от корки до корки рэп пластинка, но и фанко-соуловые номера не особо впечатляют. Короче можно обойтись месседжем, больше ловить здесь особо нечего.

Стандартный хип-хопчик того времени - близко к фанку, но уже подобие читки. The Message иконичная, остальное ну пойдет. И всё ещё лучше мамбл-рэпа.

It was fun. Definitely why I like this project. I've know about Grandmaster Flash and little bits about early hip hop, but never checked it out before. Probably not something I'll listen to much. But glad I did.

The first half of this album was fun and fresh. I think that Grandmaster Flash is iconic and has integrated with the like... fabric of culture itself, because so many riffs and lines were recognizable to me. But then the album slowed down into R&B and 7+ minute songs and lost all steam. R&B doesn't often catch my interest, and I didn't enjoy his voice enough to appreciate back to back slow songs after such high octane energy.

Very influential album. 3.5 stars

Album is significant in the history of rap music. But, it struggles a little when the music becomes more r&b focused. The more upbeat, rap songs, are decent. 3/5 Might listen again

Про страдания черных в гетто в Нью Йорке Прикольно, звучит плотно и чисто Есть хит Почти как kool and the gang 3.1

Some classics on this which were nice to find. Not sure its my favourite rap style but the music and beats were good fun

This seems like kind of a hopelessly naive form of hip-hop all these years later, but most of the songs are fun to listen to.

This album sounds like an early attempt to hip-hop music. It has interesting beats, groovy bass lines - I like that. I don’t like those drum machine beats which sound childish to me. However, many song were in soul genre and it was pleasure to listen to. Not to mention iconic Message song instrumental.

So cheesy and so fun

6/10

Bangin the whole album through

It’s a wonky album! Enjoyed the first couple of tracks, but then the experimental electro of Scorpio was less tolerable. The Stevie wonder tribute was confusing but then we finish with the all timer The Message.

As a kid of the 80’s, I loved the vibe of this album. I could listen to this one at least once a week and be cool with it.

How long did it take for Stevie Wonder to file a restraining order against the group after he heard "Dreamin'"?

This album was kind of strange and not at all what I was expecting. It was fun though. Love how funky a lot of it was. It’s Nasty with that Genius of Love sample is great. I also liked It’s A Shame. The Message of course is a classic. I thought Dreamin’ was a little odd though. It was written for Stevie Wonder and it’s kind of…idk, intense? I’d be curious to know the context behind why they wrote that song. Were they friends with Stevie? Did Stevie help them in some way? Did Stevie know they wrote that song or are they just weirdly obsessed with him? Lol. I have no clue but it felt out of place. I did like how it was written in Stevie’s style though. The following song You Are also felt out of place because there was no beat/funk going on. The vocals were really pretty though. Overall the album was an interesting journey.

The album art alone deserves a 10. This album is funky and fun. It’s got some great hip hop and soul roots, what a combo. The music feels dated but I’m sure at the time it was not, and there are still some highlights throughout. This album goes all over the map from rap or hip hop to soul and even gets a bit gospel, pretty awesome to experience. Finally, ‘The Message’ is iconic of course.

70. beginning and end were great

Its crazy to me how identifiable the 1980s are in every kind of media that came out of that time. I'm sure someone could argue that its true for any decade, but something just stands out so so much about any 80s music, movie, etc.

Not the worst listen but can’t help but feel it’s a bit dated.

Very old skool and not an unpleasant listen but doubt I will listen again. Interesting that hip hop has developed so much since the early 80s, I think I prefer the funk influenced early days.

An enjoyable if clearly dated album. Liked the robot voice song the most. Love the fact that Grandmaster Flash invented the slip mat, that’s weirdly cool.

An absolute classic of a hip-hop album, but whilst I can appreciate a lot of the effort, some of the tracks towards the middle sort of lose the feel of the album.

Enjoyable, and definitely classic, but it doesn't do enough for me to move out of the three-hole.

I know this is a classic, and I know it marks the birth of commercially viable rap, and there's some good songs on here, but no thanks to the R&B. It keeps it at a three, for sure.

3/5 - Ultima I and Wizardry defined the computer role playing game genre in the early 80s. There'd be no Baldur's Gate 3, Skyrim, or Disco Elysium without those works. That doesn't mean I want to go back and play them for more than a quick laugh at how clunky games used to feel. The rating is purely for influence; have no desire to spend time here.

I enjoyed it but then it was kind of overwhelming me

5/10… electro funk / hip hop / *1982

Nice, but didn't blow me away.

1/29 Classic old-school hip hop. Really the only type of rap that's tolerable to me

Way more diverse than I would have expected from only knowing The Message, White Lines and Adventures of..., unfortunately it wasn't for the better

The 80s rap is great. And old school vibe but it doesn't sound dated. It then has songs that are paens to Stevie Wonder and a bit schmaltzy for my tastes. The spoken word bits won't be to everyone's tastes. The Message is a great song and although the album does make a lot of it, they don't overdo it.

varied album with much to enjoy and standout track that spawned a genre

Mocno naciągane 3. Głównie za odę do Steviego Wondera, bo to przyjemny kawałek, na który Wonder sobie zasłużył. Plus za zharmonizowanie tylu różnych głosów. Myślę, że równie często chwalę w swoich recenzjach mieszaninę stylów, nazywając to eklektyzmem, co ją ganię, nazywając chaosem. Wydaje mi się, że trudno osiągnąć balans w takiej konstrukcji albumu (plus trzeba być naprawdę dobrym muzykiem w wielu gatunkach) i tutaj wydaje mi się, że ta sztuka się nie udała. "Scorpio" mnie niesamowicie denerwowało, ten wczesne przejawy hip-hopu też mi nie siadły. Dodatkowy plus za pozytywny, lewicowo-chrześcijański przekaz, lubię to w czarnej muzyce tego okresu.

I struggled to find all the songs on this album, so I did the best I could with the Wikipedia tracklist. Starting off with She’s Fierce, such a fun track. I also loved Its Nasty. There were a lot of cool little bass moments in there, and the use of the kazoo made me laugh. All the different artists fit together well. In the Adventured of Grandmaster Flash on the wheels, the sampling of Another one bites the Dust was actually pretty well done. I hate to say this, as it’s an alright track, but the vocal effects on Scorpio gave me a headache. Now for the title track! I have the extended edition playing. This is honestly quite good so far. I quite like this guys flow. Message 2, which I believe was only on an extended edition, was also pretty good. New York New York, which I believe is another bonus track, was a bop. The lyrics were so good on this track. I really enjoyed all the songs I tracked down from this album. Overall, 6/10, 3.5 ⭐️. Enjoyed it, thought it was fun, but not something I will probably ever listen to again! 23/1089

misclicked listen and rate later

While the title track is a significant part of Hip-Hop's early development. the rest of this album doesn't hold up very well. The R & B ballads are painfully dull and entirely skippable. I'm also getting kinda sick of hearing "Genius of Love."

While I don't enjoy funk as much as I do other genres, I can see how this album has been so influential. "The Message" and "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash" are songs I immediately recognized for their hooks and I could also identify sounds that they sampled such as in "It's a Shame" and sounds they made that would become samples later in history like in "It's Nasty"

Despite the mediocre slower songs, this album has some bangers. Now should the last song count? It was apparently not on the original track list. Probably not, but the three singles buoy this album. Top tracks: "The Message," "It's Nasty," "She's Fresh," "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel"

--She's Fresh...oh hells yeah. fat ass bass makes me feel good. runs out of steam half way through --It's Nasty...hard to go wrong sampling "Genius of Love" --Scorpio...robot rock --It's a Shame (Mt. Airy Groove)...funky bass line. not much else --Dreamin'...cheesy af. I honestly can't tell whether or not this is a joke --You Are...also cheesy af. I guess it's not a joke --The Message...classic. Duke Bootee and Melle Mel announcing the era of the emcee --The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel (UK only release?)...hot stuff comin' through. this hits real nice

Pretty fun. it’s nasty and the message are good songs. I lost my mind at scorpio

Good peaks but pretty bad valleys

Ok, good bear n some I didn't know were originally from here

Pretty fun album, dreamin was really bad though Will I listen to again: 35%

#4/1001🇺🇸 Mixed feelings on this having only heard the title track before. The hip-hop / electro tunes are more interesting for me, but i'm not so keen on the 2 more soulful ones on side two. Its an important document of the evolution of music in the early 80s and deserves its place on this list, but doesnt feel like something i need to come back to again and again.

6.5/10

Of course I'd heard The Message before but none of the rest. This is a real mixed bag of styles. Some of it just sounds so dated and cheesy (and reminds me, weirdly of Ditch rap duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven - guess this was part of their influence). Definitely listenable and deserves credit for the last track.

Meh. Kinda samey but good vibes

Overflowing with the 80s hip hop vibe. Some songs were really fun and funky, some were not as enjoyable to me. Decent album all around

Can't deny the power of old school hip hop — whether it's She's Fresh, It's Nasty, or The Message, this record has definite highs. It's a Shame that there are listeners who will balk at the early 80s hip-hop turntablism and breakbeats from New York, New York. I don't care if some of this was purported "filler" to package a single as an album; so much of it rises above that lyrically and musically. And, sure, there are a couple dips when they stray from the party-vibe (but): You Are, Dreamin' if you don't think we're being sly as Scorpio up in this joint.

I can see how groundbreaking this might’ve been at the time, but I am unfortunately not unc enough to understand or appreciate that. The singing on some of the tracks is great and I enjoyed the more substantive messages on some of the songs. Good stuff.

funky

Side 1 is great. Side 2 is two very sappy filler songs and then one classic.

Today I learned that “Don’t push me ‘cause I’m close to the edge” is not originally from Happy Feet. Highlights: She’s Fresh, It’s Nasty, Dreamin’, The Message

Honestly enjoyed it more than I expected for hip-hop/rap in this era. It was good and has some things that seem to stand up today. I also like the softer songs in rap albums, which tend to be less popular. This had a couple of those.

I had never listened to this before today.

Some of this is excellent, other bits weren't as interesting, but over all good

Really cool old hiphop. You can clearly hear where they have influenced later musicians in hiphop and maybe even some in electronic music with the beats and synth use. A fun listen but not music that age well enough to be something I would listen to today.

A bit uneven but these guys get bonus points for being pioneers. 3.5

Good.

Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Melle Mel, Scorpio, and Rahiem changed the world. And while the album is more known for just a single song, it proved that Rap could be a legitimate music business.

Not one I would have expected to like, but I was having a good boogie along to this one.

It's not as great to listen to classic Hip-Hop when literally everyone else has sampled your tracks in every other genre...

Better than expected, too long. First two tracks and last two tracks are good

Lots of classics and a range of interesting stuff on here but I just don’t see myself wanting to listen to any of it again

Iconic title track and on the whole enjoyed it More than most 80s rap albums. Fo sho, the Stevie inspired songs arent great, but probably no worse than what Wonder was putting out himself in this decade.

The Message is an all timer but the rest is pretty meh

3.5 stars

Man, those dudes have range!

Funk, Hip-Hop

So old school I felt like I was a club in Brooklyn in 1979 about to breakdance on a piece of cardboard. I was impressed with the variety of ideas beyond the Message. Super fun. Look the music now sounds kinda simplistic compared to what modern hip hop produces. But still a fun time capsule.

Another album had to listen to on YouTube

There were some real fillery mushy ballads in the middle of this otherwise very solid album that really dragged it down.

never boring, never overstays its welcome, fresh and tight in a way modern hiphop seems to have largely abandoned

Pretty corny at times, but fun and funny in a good way.

I guess it’s more positive than gangster shit. Catchy in places, downright cringey in others

It's mainly just a lot of fucking around. Which we all know is important, but doesn't make for that good of a listen. Being a bit generous because of how great The Message is.

I think what makes album great is their timeless appeal. Although this album when it came out was groundbreaking and influential, it doesn’t work in the 21st century.

Ei taas ollu huono, mutta ei kyllä kummosta. Aika taustametelinä meni koko albumi. Ei jättänyt suurempaa jälkeä

Tää nyt menee näihin ensimmäisiin hipetihoppeihin ja menohan on sen mukasta. Mesitsi on ennestään tuttu veisu ja se on kyllä hyvä se. Sillai tässä nyt sitä suuntaa ylipäänsä varmaan haetaan itseilmasun osalta ja lopputulos on vähän sekava. Osan ajasta kovaa meininkii ja osan sitten aika "kiva juttu hei" -tasoo. Posin puolella kuitenkin ehottomasti ja yks biisi on viis kautta viis mutta sitten koko rieska se mitä kuuluu koko ajan antaa eli joo. Kiva kuulla hei koko albumi tätä menoo kun ei oo aiemmin saanut aikaseks.

Meh.

Can't deny the influence of this, but certainly sounds like a product of its time. Hip hop in the early 80s can't help but feel a bit cheesy now but this was certainly important, and the title track is one of the cornerstones of the genre. Some of the rest of it is kind of uneven though - some fun party jams (It's Nasty) but some utterly awful ballads (the Stevie Wonder song). Hard for me to go too high with this rating but still respect it a ton.

This is also an important album, even if it’s not my hip hop cup of tea. More disco-inflected than I was expecting, and also more fun than I expected. The Stevie Wonder song was cheesy, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the album overall.

Way way ahead of its time for 82, not as much rapping as I thought - kinda post disco soul

one of the first major rap bands. i enjoyed the first couple of songs but all in all it was only OK.

Didn’t realize how funky this album was. Knew its place in hip hop history (and “the message” is still great) but was a bit taken aback at how much funk there was. Very much a transitional record. Also dug “the adventures of grandmaster flash” for the scratching and was that Debbie harry rapping? Beats are pretty good if dated.

Maybe it's just because it's from the early 80's, but I thought this was good. Not something I want to listen to over and over, but I wasn't ignoring it and hoping it would be over soon.

Is “It’s Nasty” the first track to sample “Genius of Love”? It’s gotta be towards the top of the list. It’s actually pretty transformative as far as that sample goes. Legacy rap that’s also fun to listen to. Obviously it doesn’t sound a lot like what rap these days - it’s pretty indebted to 70s funk and R&B and early 80s pop (even some gospel) - but you can hear the genre evolving by the song. The title track in particular is a cornerstone.

two classic innovations - rest is a transitional set - have to give a 3 b/c its impact

Some great songs but some dross too

Funky, disco-y at times with a solid hip-hop flair. Not my favorite album we've heard yet but pretty good.

Not my genre but I enjoyed it for most part

One of the very first hip hop albums! Its importance and influence is huge, but it's far from perfect. The massive standout is The Message, maybe the first political hip hop song with a super iconic and funky beat. The first 2 songs are quite good too. I like the groove of She's Fresh and It's Nasty is a bit primitive, but still a fun rap song. Now since it was 1982 they couldn't just make a full album of rap songs, they had to put some bullshit poppy smooth soul songs (Dreamin, You Are) which kinda suck. The other 2 songs are fine but sound a bit basic and haven't withstood the test of time. It's a fun and interesting listen, but not consistent at all. I'm leaving 3 stars for the cultural impact

Pretty good early hip hop. It's kind of weird to listen to now since hip hop has come so far in the past 30 or 40 years. So different from the modern stuff. This album is something I would listen to just to get some perspective on the genre and it's evolution which has been pretty amazing to listen to over my lifetime. I kind of wonder if these guys knew what they were starting when they made their first beats and lyrics so long ago.

Not what I was expecting. Cool to be able to trace the origins of various genres through this exercise, but I won't voluntarily go back to this one. The Message is cool and Genius of Love is great, but not sure they added a lot to that one.

I get that it needs to be on the list because of it’s influence on Rap but I feel like it’s been given enough of its due.

Not as much rapping as I was assuming, much more in the funk/soul realm than later hip hop. Pretty good album overall

6/10

Er ikke tvil om at dette er viktig, men som album er det ujevnt. Tittelsporet er såklart den største bangeren, men «She’s Fresh» har også mye for seg. Utover det prøver de seg på veldig mye forskjellig, og det er kanskje ikke rart da sjangeren var så pur-ung. Så det er noen singler som fortsatt sitter, og det kommer de til å gjøre i mange år til. «Scorpio» høres ut som en Kraftwerk-parodi som gikk litt forbi Kraftwerk. Så er det plutselig kasta inn to svisker som teknisk sett er greit fremført, bare veldig mid skrevet. Men det er gøy å høre albumet med historisk perspektiv. Det gir for eksempel veldig mening at de som har framført norsk parodirap fra 80-tallet har hørt dette og ikke for eksempel Rakim eller Public Enemy. Norges første rappelåt er visstnok en Crispo-reklame hvor de rapper over beaten til «The Message». Jeg måtte søke den opp på Youtube da jeg var ferdig med originalen og jeg er litt trist over at jeg tenker på Crispo når jeg hører noe som egentlig skal være viktig.

I remember hearing The Message either on the radio or TV, I think. This would have been in 1982, and I would have been around 8 years old. I feel like I’ve known the lyrics, “Don’t push me ‘cause I’m close to the edge. I’m tryin’ not to lose my head" since birth. When I saw my next album was The Message, I was interested in seeing what the other songs sounded like. I was very surprised, or maybe shocked is the word. The song The Message is one of the first rap songs that wasn’t just about bragging. It was about how hard it was in the streets for young black men. It was a social message you could dance to. It’s definitely the father of gangsta rap. But The Message was track seven on an eight song album. Track one was She’s Fresh which starts out with a horn section leading into a dance song with no rapping. What? It sounds like a reject from the Commodores album that had Brickhouse on it. It’s not bad, but it definitely isn’t The Message. Hmmmm. Track two is a song called It’s Nasty which is the music from Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, but they’re rapping about how they’re freaks and you better lock up your daughters and wives. Okay, now we’re back on track. You have to grade these early '80s rap songs on a curve because we’ve heard so much since then, but it’s a solid track. Nothing great, but if you needed a dance track, it would work in a pinch. Now, track three is a song called Scorpio and it’s a banger. This was one of the best early electro tracks. It gives off Rock It vibes from Herbie Hancock. It’s a very cool track and I imagine it really blew some folks away in 1982. The album goes on to devolve into mediocre singing and clunky rapping. There’s a tribute song to Stevie Wonder called Dreamin' that is so cringe, you have to hear it to believe. The singing is not good and the lyrics sound like they were written by a middle schooler who had a month to come up with a song, but waited until the night before to start working on it. Whoa Stevie, that's why (that's why) when we dream of you (dreamin') We believe anything that you see Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's why (that's why) it's because of you (of you) We would like your dreams (our dreams) turn to reality (reality) Later in the song, someone asks Grandmaster Flash if he thinks they’ll ever meet Stevie. I can picture Flash patting the little guy on the head and saying, Maybe one day, sport. Maybe one day. So once you get through the junk, you get to The Message and it just kills all the other tracks. You can feel the grittiness and realness in the lyrics. The other songs seemed try-hard from a group of kids who were trying their best to make music that was popular 10-15 years before 1982. What I think happened is, the group released The Message as a single, it blew up, and they needed an album. So, they cobbled together seven other songs and put out a rushed album just to get some product out in the stores. You might think I’m going to tell you to skip the album titled The Message and just listen to the song titled The Message, but no. The album is so crazy and weird and not good. I think you need to hear it. I may even go back and listen it it from time to time when I need a good laugh. Oh! I almost forgot! They have a Jesus song on the album called You Are. It's so weird to have a song about loving Jesus after a song called It's Nasty which brags about how freaky they are in bed. It's like they asked all their friends from different genres to submit a bad song to put on the album. I guess they thought a rising tide floats all boats. I'm beginning to really turn around on this album as I listen to it again. Forget everything I said before this and listen to The Message, the album, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Synth out the gate! Lots of simple lyrics and hype energy, in a classic funky alt 80s way. I've heard "It's Nasty" before for sure. Scorpio is a bop. I'm sensing some early Daft Punk in the vocals.

Surely relevant for hip hop, but sounds silly to me.

Decent album. Scorpio sounds like the best Daft Punk song I’ve never heard.

This is actually quite bad. A 3 because the Message is one of the best songs ever.

6.5

Masterpiece in hip hop music.

the non-rap filler is yikes. but holy shit the rap stuff. So good. ugh really should be a 4 star.

fun corny 80's rap! its dated, but still enjoyable for what it is.

It was neat hearing a lot of beats I recognized in current music.

an album by one of the most influential hip hop artists

The title track is a classic. the rest were fun, though not revelatory. (That Stevie Wonder track was just downright weird.) The version I listened to had The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash and the Wheels of Steel on it, which is an all-time single, and I would argue is better and more important than The Message. but that wasn't on the original LP as far as I can tell. on a nostalgic note, i had a GMF compilation album when i was a kid, and i damn near wore that tape out. That material was light years ahead of its time and ruined hip-hop for me for the next several years until Public Enemy finally came along and picked up the mantle. That compilation was better than this, so I can't help but be a little disappointed in some of these tunes. Still, I love these guys. I guess I'm giving this a 3 only because I don't know what else to give it.

History lessons via rap that I can dig.

So much fun. It's quite dated, and the major song from this (The Message) does mostly just make me want to listen to contemporary covers of it.

I'm kinda torn why this is on the list. If it was about Songs, The Message should 100000% have a placement. It's Hiphop in it's earlier stages in the early 80's. I enjoyed some tracks, very funky and raw still. Some other not so much, but I'm not the biggest early-mid 80's Hiphop fan.

3.5

It's Nasty reminded me of Flight of the Conchords. Which was probably intentional and added to the appeal of it, at least for me. Some of the lyrics are comical, seemingly unintentionally. Otherwise, it's kinda fun, retro-dance music. Also, proves that doing Soul well ain't easy. Amirite, Ladies?

Fresh listen for me for a first time

Flows aged poorly, lyrics aged alright, production aged wonderfully.