One of the most important artists in the rap genre all time (let alone old school hip hop) is Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, who in a few weeks will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside such people as R.E.M. and Van Halen. This album is a cursory but still important glance at explaining why they're renowned. Even though they were only together for a few years the Furious Five left an indelible mark on the genre. If you're familiar with them, it's probably due to "The Message", the first ever rap where social issues are discussed and mentioned in a serious manner. Before that, though, their records either showed off Flash's scratching skills or were party records featuring kazoos (really).
The first song I'm putting up is known as "The Birthday Song". While it's not the best of their party joints, I have to put it up today, as February 22nd happens to be my birthday. That's right, I turned 26 today even though I still look like I'm a teenager! You'll get to hear that, indeed, they used kazoos as an instrument for everyone to get down to.
The second song is a similar song to "The Message" in that they talk about serious social issues. This is "New York New York", where you get to hear about a person jumping off the ledge due to problems in his life, someone having to eat dog food as he can't afford real food, prostitution, and most heartbreaking, a young mother putting her newborn child in a trashcan as she can't afford to feed both. It shows the darker side of inner city life and its importance is showing how too many people have to live in that environment. Don't worry, though, the song is very catchy too.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five-"The Birthday Song" (7.93 MB, 192
Kbits/second)
http://www.bestsharing.com/files/uCEnmz230124/Grandmaster%20Flash%20_%20The%20Furious%20Five-The%20Birthday%20Song.MP3.html
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five-"New York New York" (9.94 MB, 192 Kbits/second)
http://www.bestsharing.com/files/JDS8CA0230127/Grandmaster%20Flash%20_%20The%20Furious%20Five-New%20York%20New%20York.MP3.html
Friday afternoon I'll post a more upbeat tune.
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