Formation and early years (1978–1979) Prior to the formation of the Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash worked with the "L Brothers", which consisted of "Mean Gene" Livingston, Claudio Livingston and
Grand Wizzard Theodore. Flash then recruited his friend
Cowboy, Melle Mel and Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover). Melle Mel and Kidd Creole were the first rappers to call themselves "MCs" (Masters of Ceremonies). The 3 emcees worked with Flash, who went on to bring in Scorpio and Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams). After the formation of the Furious 5, Flash also worked with rapper
Kurtis Blow doing parties in Queens. During the time Flash worked with Kurtis Blow, it was mainly due to internal disputes with the emcees, so for a short time prior to the formation of the
Cold Crush Brothers in 1979, DJ Charlie Chase was the Furious 5's DJ. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 were the number one rap group on the streets of New York City before rap music was embraced by the music industry, setting the standard for all other emcee groups who came after them. The first single they released was "We Rap More Mellow", which was registered under the name
The Younger Generation. The name change was made by the producer, who considered it better. The group was popular locally, gaining recognition for their skillful raps and deejaying, but it was not until the
Sugarhill Gang's "
Rapper's Delight" proved that hip hop music could achieve mainstream success that they began recording. In 1979, they released their first single on
Enjoy Records, "Superappin". The group went on to sign with
Sylvia Robinson's
Sugar Hill Records, following an agreement that they could perform over a then-popular DJ favorite.
Mainstream success and The Message (1980–1982) In 1980, the group released their Sugarhill Records debut, "Freedom", which reached #19 on the R&B chart and sold over 50,000 copies. The follow-up, "Birthday Party" was also a hit. The royalties dispute split the group. Melle Mel, Scorpio, and Cowboy left after "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" was a hit. They formed Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five and released the album
Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five in 1984. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole, and Rahiem left for
Elektra Records and added three new members to the group: Kevin "The Lord LaVon" Dukes, Russell "Mr. Broadway" Wheeler and "Larry-Love" Parker. They worked under the name "Grandmaster Flash" on ''
They Said It Couldn't Be Done, The Source, and Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang''. The additional members The Lord La Von, Larry Love and Mr. Broadway formed the "Furious Five" but they could not use the name as Sugar Hill Records owned the rights. Grandmaster Flash and his new "Furious Five" had a few hits with their three albums that made it to the top fifty of
Billboards
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, whereas
Melle Mel and his group fared better. Grandmaster Melle Mel's most notable hit was "Beat Street Breakdown", which peaked at #8 in the R&B chart. Melle Mel also appeared in
Chaka Khan's "
I Feel for You", which won the
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1985. In 1990, Grandmaster Flash produced Just-Ice's album
Masterpiece. He went on to work as musical director for
The Chris Rock Show, and later released
The Official Adventures of Grandmaster Flash,
Essential Mix: Classic Edition, and
The Bridge (Concept of a Culture). He has also received many accolades, including the DJ Vanguard Award from
Bill Gates in 2004,
RIAA's Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2005, and
BET's
I Am Hip-Hop Icon Award in 2006. His autobiography,
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats, was released in 2008. In 1985, Melle Mel met
Quincy Jones at the Grammys, and they began to collaborate for
Back on the Block. This led to Mel being featured in the song "Back on the Block", which won him the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1991. He would pick up an additional
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2002 for his contributions in
Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones. 1997 saw him sign onto Straight Game Records and release
Right Now with Mr. Ness/Scorpio. The album also featured Rondo; the two went on to form a group called
Die Hard. In 2012, they released an album titled
On Lock. On January 23, 2007, Mel changed his name to Grandmaster Melle Mel and released his first solo studio album,
Muscles. The first single and music video was "M3 – The New Message". He has also released the children's book
The Portal in the Park, which features a CD on which children can read and rap along with him. This project featured a then-unknown
Lady Gaga. She performs with Mel on the songs "World Family Tree" and "The Fountain Of Truth". to coincide with a UK and European tour, which they are undertaking alongside
The Sugarhill Gang. On August 2, 2017, Nathaniel Glover (Kidd Creole) was arrested and charged with the murder of a New York city homeless man. In 2022, Glover was found guilty of manslaughter in relation to the case, and was sentenced to sixteen years in prison. ==Legacy and influence==