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34 HIPHOP//RNB


THE GUESTLIST NETWORK | FEBRUARY 2011


GRANDMASTER FLASH: HipHop DJ Pioneer


A leader of the Furious Five in the mid 70’s, Grandmaster Flash is one of the most influential figures in the development of Hip Hop and one of the pioneers of DJing, cutting, and mixing.


DJ MK


So it’s been seven years that you have been playing on Kiss FM, what have been some of your highlights? Meeting MC’s and DJs that I have grown up listening to like Nas, Ludacris, LL Cool J, Outkast and even Russell Simmons. Also seeing artists grow and make it. Especially in the last two years with artist such as Wretch 32 and Professor Green.


So what is the best thing about being Roots Manuva’s DJ for so long? Just seeing everything grow musically, the first shows we did were in proper ghetto North London clubs for either £50 or even no money! This was like when we were about 21 or 22 back in 1997. So to see it go from doing shows for £50 in front of 20 people to doing Glastonbury, the main stage at Reading Festival in front of 80,000 people has been great. Also seeing the fan base grow and seeing more people get into the music. One thing that Rodney from Roots Manuva doesn’t get credit for enough is that he really opened the doors for so many people such as The Streets and Dizzee Rascal.


Tabatha Taylor


Best known for being Roots Manuva’s live DJ & his show on Kiss FM. DJ MK has been been in the game for years and continues to be smashing big things.


He was the first UK rapper to get props in America.


So from all of your guests that you have had on the show, who would you say has been the most inspirational? I would have to say Russel Simmons, Raekwon and DJ Premier.


You’re one of the founders of “The Funhouse”. Hows it all going and for those who do not know, what is the whole concept all about? The Funhouse is an online music station which is a cross between radio and TV, it bridges that gap between both. It started a year and a half ago, we have had half a million viewers in that time and had upto 37 thousand viewers for one show. It is just another outlet for good music whether that be a DJ that you have never heard of or some superstar DJ. We broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday from a studio in Central London and we also have a new website launching next month.


You’re one of the first UK DJs to start producing properly packaged, high quality mixtapes. Did you realise how big this was gonna be? Nah, I just did it because I was a kid that was too young to DJ in clubs. I used to get tapes off radio shows in New York, I was listening to what all the New York DJs were playing and I was like wow no one is doing this shit in the UK, no one has caught onto this. Also, Westwood was a proper help as he bought one of my mixtapes when I was 17, he called up my house and my mum picked up the phone. I thought it was one of my mates taking the piss because I used to listen to him on Capital Radio before he went to Radio One. He used to play my mixes all the time so I could say he gave me my first break really.


If you were invisible for the day, what would you get up to? I would try and steal as much money as I could, spy on the Queen and I would have to check out some famous girls that I would like to see naked! I would go to L.A. and track down Halle Berry!


If you had a swimming pool filled with anything, what would it be? Definitely MAC computers, your not really gonna swim in whatever is in there are you?! I always need computers!


Give us an exclusive? Look out for the DJ MK album that is going to be out in the summer. It is gonna feature beats from myself and other famous producers and talented MC’s. Also, me and my homeboy A Side used to do a club night called Gulliver. So we are going to bring that back and have a night that plays good shit! I just wanna keep on doing what were doing, supporting artists and playing good music. Check out the website www.djmksworld.blogspot. com and twitter http://twitter.com/ djmk.


It is said that his mixing skills transformed the turntable into a true ‘instrument’, and his ability to get a crowd moving has made his DJ set’s legendary. So much so that him and his group, the Furious Five, were the first Hip-Hop/Rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007. Grandmaster Flash was born Joseph Saddler on the 1st of January 1958 in Bridgetown, Barbados. He developed and mastered three innovations that are still considered standard DJing techniques today. These are The Backspin Technique, Punch Phrasing and Scratching. Grandmaster Flash brought them to new audiences and exhibited a unique performative aspect of party DJing. For example, instead of passively spinning records, he actively manipulated them to create new music.


In the mid 1970s, he formed his own group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Quickly gaining recognition for their


skillful raps, the group began performing regularly at Disco Fever in the Bronx, one of the first times a Hip-Hop group was given a weekly gig at a well- known venue. The group’s most significant hit was “The Message” in 1982. The same year, Grandmaster Flash appeared in the movie “Wild Style” but tensions mounted within the group as “The Message” gained in popularity. Soon the group disintegrated entirely.


Today, Grandmaster Flash is the owner of a clothing line, “G.Phyre.” In 2008 he released a memoir, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats. He hosts a weekly show, “Friday Night Fire with Grandmaster Flash” and was presented with the BET “I Am Hip Hop Icon” award in 2006. Grandmaster Flash appears in the video game “DJ Hero” as a playable character along with original mixes created for the game.


Catch DJ MK at The Big Chill Presents Mixcloud ‘History of Hip-Hop’ on 26th February.


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