GRANDMASTER FLASH
Joseph Saddler (better known by his stage name Grandmaster
Flash)
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was born January 1, 1958 in Barbados (Caribbean)
- after emigrating grew up in the Bronx, New York
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due to his interest in electronic equipment created techniques which revolutionized the world of DJing
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was very successful recording songs with the
Furious Five which lead to them being honored in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 as the first ever Hip Hop group
Flash experienced:
The disco music on radios which was simply connected by slow blends of the outro and intro of two different songs.
DJ Kool Herc's technique which is described as a "disarray in unison" since he "hopped" from one break part to another.
Both options were frustrating for Flash so he invented an alternative
From his personal biography:
"He invented the Quick Mix Theory, which included techniques such as the double-back, back-door, back-spin, and phasing. This allowed a DJ to make music by touching the record and gauging its revolutions to make his own beat and his own music. Flash’s template grew to include cuttin’, which, in turn, spawned scratching, transforming, the Clock Theory and the like. He laid the groundwork for everything a DJ can do with a record today, other than just letting it play. What we call a DJ today is a role that Flash invented."
"We can come from our own particular point of view and lay it down.
We should not be throwing verbal rocks at each other.
We're all responsible to continue the growth of Hip Hop."
(Grandmaster Flash)
"Flash was turntable god to us." (Jazzy Jay)
What Joseph Saddler accomplished in those young and fresh times of this cultural movement is from an indescribable value for the evolution ofDJing in particular. He had merely a few like minded innovators such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa, his father's record collection and his own passion for music and electrical equipment to inspire him. From there on he created an improvement of the
Hip Hop Music which dancers and artists rely on heavily up until today.
Thank you Flash!