Grandmaster Flash - Message from Beat Street: The Best of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & the Furious Five

A diplomatically titled Rhino compilation, Message from Beat Street: The Best of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & the Furious Five is a no-brainer collection featuring the absolute best of the group's four years on Sugar Hill -- from the national breakout with 1980's "Freedom" to the beginning of the end, Melle Mel & The Furious Five's rap-on-film classic, "Beat Street." Backed by the party-pleasing productions of Joey and Sylvia Robinson plus gorgeous grooves courtesy of the Sugar Hill house band (guitarist Skip Mcdonald, bassist Doug Wimbish, drummer Keith Leblanc), Grandmaster Flash and company recorded most of rap's popular classics from the early '80s, providing a crucial bridge from the street-party aesthetic of the late '70s to Run-d.m.c.'s mid-'80s breakout. Read More