Grandmaster Flash Fresh And Furious: Hip Hop's Beginning CD

This double CD set collects the early Sugarhill recordings of one of the seminal architects of hip-hop. With the emphasis on original vocal tracks performed over down-and-dirty 1970s street funk, these Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five sides are a world away from the later sample-heavy efforts that came to typify the genre, but in timeless tracks like "The Message" and socially conscious cuts like "It's a Shame" lie the roots of more politically oriented acts like N.W.A. and Public Enemy.

(2-CD Set) Grandmaster Flash's first two albums: The Message (1982), They Said It Couldn't Be Done (1985) together is this nice price 2CD box set.

Liner Note Author: Peter Relic.

Photographers: Hemu Aggarwal; Anthony Barboza.

Arrangers: Lavon; Grandmaster Flash; Rahiem; Vince Madison.

Personnel: Grandmaster Flash (keyboards, drum programming, background vocals); Rahiem (vocals, rap vocals, keyboards, background vocals); Lavon, Mister Broadway (rap vocals, background vocals); Paul Pesco (guitar, drum programming); Richard Anthony Davis, Skip McDonald (guitar); Crispin Cioe (alto saxophone); Arno Hecht, Jack Bashkow (tenor saxophone); Hollywood Paul Litteral (trumpet); Don Mikkelsen, Bob Funk (trombone); Chops Horn Section (brass); Gavin Christopher (keyboards, synthesizer, tom tom, percussion, programming); Vince Madison (keyboards, programming); Dave Ogrin (keyboards, drum programming); Dwain Mitchell, Gary Henry, Terry Marshall (keyboards); T.M. Stevens (bass guitar); Simmons (drums, programming); Keith LeBlanc (drums); Ed Fletcher (percussion); Larry Love (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dave Ogrin; Gavin Christopher; Jiggs Chase; Grandmaster Flash; Steve Jerome; Carl Beatty.