Entire World of 80s Rap Music
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – The Message. One of the definitive tracks in the entire world of 80s rap music was this socially conscious groove by MC Melle Mel – even though Flash and the other members of the Five are credited on the vinyl, they don’t actually appear on the recording. Over an unforgettable twinkling keyboard line by session musician Ed “Duke Bootee” Fletcher , Mel delivered socially conscious, earthy lyrics about life in the ghetto. Honorable message has to go to Melle Mel’s 1984 “White Lines (Don’t Do It),” an anti-cocaine ballad over a crackling sample from NYC art-funk band Liquid Liquid.
