Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

USA, 1978–1988

Bronx group who brought turntable technique onto record and, with 'The Message' (1982), moved rap towards social description. They were the first hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and 8 artists Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five?

• DJ Kool Herc — Flash studied DJ Kool Herc's parties and built directly on Herc's breakbeat — his Quick Mix Theory elongated the break Herc had isolated.
• James Brown — The hard funk records — James Brown foremost — were the breaks Flash cut and looped into hip-hop rhythm.

Which artists did Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five influence?

• Gorillaz — Hip-hop is core to Gorillaz — Grandmaster Flash's pioneering rap and turntablism are among the acts Albarn cites as influences.
• The Prodigy — Howlett fell into hip-hop at secondary school through Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five — the breakbeat culture beneath The Prodigy.
• Run-DMC — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were Run-DMC's forebears — the Bronx DJ techniques and socially conscious rap the Queens crew hardened and stripped down.
• Cold Crush Brothers — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five directly influenced the Cold Crush Brothers, the leading routine-based crew of the next Bronx wave.
• Treacherous Three — The Furious Five's group-routine style set the template the Treacherous Three built their fast-rap technique on.
• Funky 4 + 1 — The Funky 4 + 1 developed the multi-MC routine style pioneered by the Furious Five.
• Fearless Four — The Fearless Four came up through the same Bronx old-school scene led by the Furious Five.
• Whodini — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were among the acts that directly influenced Whodini.