Grandmaster Flash Feels Like A “Proud Dad” After Receiving RIAA Hip Hop Honor
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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently held its 2022 Hip Hop Honors event, during which the organization paid tribute to icons who have served as pillars of the culture over the years. The event, which took place on September 14th in Washington, D.C., was a festive affair, as numerous attendees mingled and partook in the food and libations readily available throughout RIAA’s new, future-forward designed offices. The aura was glorious.
Among the figures celebrated during the evening was Grandmaster Flash, who’s role in shaping the foundational look, vibe and sound of Hip-Hop can not be overstated. A native of the Bronx, New York, Flash (born Joseph Saddler) began his journey as a student of the culture, taking inspiration in the techniques and stylings of pioneering Hip-Hop DJs such as Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flowers, and Pete Jones.
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Sharpening his skills through avid practice sessions in his apartment bedroom, Flash soon became known as a prodigious spinner. Inventing and refining various techniques such as the backspin, punch phrasing and scratching, he became widely known as the preeminent DJ on the Hip-Hop scene during the late ’70s and early ’80s. A certified party rocker in the Bronx and surrounding areas, Flash upped the ante by forming his own group, which ultimately became known as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
at RIAA’s 2022 Hip-Hop Honors In Washington, DC.
Releasing their first single, “Superappin’,” in 1979, the group would release several iconic songs over the subsequent years. In 1981, Flash dropped his own single, “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” which was followed by he and the Furious Five’s pivotal 1982 release, “The Message.” The socially concious song became one of rap’s first massive hits, crossing over onto the pop charts and is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs the genre has ever produced.
It was also added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2002. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, the first Hip-Hop group to be voted in, adding yet another historic achievement to the DJs list of accolades.
Years before receiving coated pieces of vinyl became a bragging right within the culture, DJ Grandmaster Flash was already platinum in the streets, making the honor by the RIAA even more fitting.
VIBE spoke with Grandmaster Flash at the RIAA Hip Hop Honors about witnessing the evolution of the culture, being presented by Dr. Dre, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mix Master Mike, and DJ Kool, and the strength of his enduring legacy.
You’re being honored tonight by the RIAA for your contributions to Hip-Hop. What was your reaction when you first received the news?
I was quite honored because I’ve been by a few organizations, but this one here is probably the most diverse. And what they hold really dear is the vinyl and that’s how I get my thing on. That’s how I get busy. And also, I’m looking at this Diamond wall. They got black artists, white artists, foreign artists, American artists. The diversity of the artists up there, it’s quite interesting. And to be in company with these people when I used to cut up on the ones and twos, it’s really great.
You came in this culture and helped build it prior to rap artists earning gold and platinum plaques. How has it been to see the evolution and growth of the culture over that time?
It’s like a proud Dad. A lot of times when you’re an inventor of something, whether it’s machinery or medicine or whatever, sometimes you can invent something and people could say, “What is that?” Like, “Eww, I ain’t feeling that.” So when I did what I did and I created that backing track by extending a break part and having human beings say rhymes over it, it wasn’t, “Eww, what is that?” It was like, “What is this thing that he’s doing?” So it’s just that spark of interest. In the 70s, playing in the parks as a kid, to this here, sitting here talking to you. You know how the story is. So to be a part of it and watch this thing go from being more organic to now big business [is great]. People are billionaires. It’s unarguably the biggest form of music on planet earth and to be a part of that is pretty cool.
What was your aim to experience for the event?
To sit down and talk to people and talk to artists and talk to executives. Because the music business is like a chameleon, it’s changing all the time. You know in this [there is] always something to learn and sometimes [I’m] gonna learn it from somebody that’s half my age. So for me, I’m always learning. You know, I have a new record that’s getting ready to come out next year. Hip-Hop’s get ready to officially have a birthday, 50 years old, so it’s a lot of big things that’s gonna be happening. I’m just really fortunate to still be in it. And then, the biggest thing is when people call me legend, it kind of scares me. Because a lot of people who brought something to fruition don’t live to see it. I actually am seeing this. I’m watching it. And I’ve seen more dynasties come and go than anybody, you know. And it’s just to see this thing doing what it’s doing… and I travel to 150 countries a year. This thing has octopus tentacles around the planet. I’m very proud of it. I’m very, very proud.
You’ve got Dr. Dre, who’s gonna be here virtually, as well as DJ Kool, Mix Master Mike, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, who will be honoring you in person tonight. How does it feel to be honored by your peers?
It’s cool, it’s really wonderful. It’s really really wonderful because sometimes as we escalate in the business, we sort of lose contact with people. Some people that you grew up [in the business] with when we didn’t have sh*t. We didn’t have nothing and then we become successful and we walk our own paths of life, you can’t get in contact with those people. So when they reached out to [Dr.] Dre, Dre said, “You know I don’t travel nowhere.” We all know that, he stays in his castle, in his empire, but he says, “Whatever Flash wants, just tell me what it is.” It’s a wonderful thing. And DJ Kool, I’m been knowing him for a really, really long time. So it’s pretty cool to be remembered, you know, as well as being acknowledged as one of the starters and one of the people that birthed this whole thing. Just wonderful.
Since this is the presented RIAA and this is about celebrating people, how did it feel when you got your first piece of vinyl?
You’ve gotta realize this music business, this business of Hip-Hop is huge. And they are tens and tens and tens and tens of people that go platinum. So for me to be recognized and [for them to be] on it like, “We want to honor you,” it’s a wonderful feeling that people didn’t forget [me]. And I think probably now, over the last 10 to 15 years, I’m probably more recognized than ever. So when you’re doing something that you love and you make a living at it, what else can you say? And you’ve got people that love you. What else can you say, man, you know what I mean. What else can you say?
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