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Grand Master Flash.
 Grand Master Flash should not need any introduction. Along with Kool Herc and Africa Bambaataa, he is considered a true pioneer of hip-hop. He pioneered the scratch and introduced the turntables as an instrument. His record The Message brought hip-hop and DJing from being a New York craze into a worldwide phenomenon. He's sold millions of records and received countless awards and accolades. Anyone credited with all of this would probably be ready to retire, but Flash still has a message he feels he needs to deliver to a new generation of fans.
"I have to make it clear to all the young and up and coming young people that hip-hop was created in the year 1971 and it was totally designed by a DJ. And if it wasn't for a DJ there'd be no hip-hop, there'd be no rap records, there'd be no breakdancing, there's be no graffiti artists, there'd be no MCs, there'd be no nothing!" he begins passionately. "Now that hip-hop has become so big, that knowledge is either nonexistent or it has become buried. Since I am one of the creators I have to make it clear where hip-hop comes from to every audience I perform in front of. It's very important. Hip-hop in its beginning was just a DJ. No MC, no breakdancing, no graffiti; just a DJ, his turntables, a microphone, and his trusty records. That was it."
And it's also the reason why, after 30 years, he's still going on the road, performing to audiences both large and small. "I love playing big events like the Superbowl and Commonwealth Games, because it gives the DJ a notoriety they should have," he says. "In my shows I jam, which is what I love doing, and I also like talking to young people. Just to see what they know, and what I can tell them about what they should know."
I ask if he worries about wardrobe malfunctions for large gigs like the Superbowl, and he laughs heartily. "I'm a man, I don't think I'll worry about a wardrobe malfunction too much. But I do get nervous, two minutes before, but when I get up on stage, it's the only place on earth I feel totally safe, other than when I'm with my children," he adds. "I feel totally, totally, totally safe once I come from that side stage and all those people waiting, and it's just me and God."
As someone who created scratching and introduced the world to sampling, I wanted to know his take on the controversy that surrounds it. "The beauty of hip-hop is that you take an older record that probably was never a hit, and make it a hit," he explains. "Now it has become big business, these records sell millions, and the owners of the publishing rights are deadly serious about getting paid, and I think that's fair. I think that if you take a piece of someone else's song and implant that in your work to make your song become a hit, you should pay that person. I'm with that."
The prospect of vinyl being replaced by CDs and other technologies doesn't seem to phase Flash at all. "I think for the more serious minded person who goes and watches DJs, it's not watching the arm on the vinyl. From what I am told, the average fan likes to watch the DJ. They like to watch them turn around, dig into his boxes, take it and put it on the platter, set it, cut it, throw it in," he says. "With a CD DJ, those steps disappear because the CD goes right to the point where you want it. I have much respect for the CD DJs who do their thing, but for the animated DJs, for those who move to the music, go the whole nine yards, the look of the vinyl is just," he searches for the words "more appealing, you know?"
Flash is also looking forward to getting some time off on his tour of Australia, as he feels he hasn't had a decent chance to explore our country. "Every time I come into your beautiful country I fly in and fly out. They get me coming into a town, and they whisk me away to the next town. I think I have some days off on this tour, so hopefully I'll get time to listen to some Aussie hip-hop. Also, I want to see a kangaroo! I want to see your oceans. I've only seen it on the TV, and I want to experience it for myself."
Julian Cram
 | Grand Master Flash plays at Two Tribes on Sat 12 March at the Wayville Showgrounds. |
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