Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
The Message (2005 Reissue)
Deep Beats (UK)

With the same finesse and white-polyester-with-synthesizers-and-all charm of Micheal Jackson's Thriller (that has somehow been perfectly time capsuled in Grand Theft Auto Vice City), the Grandmaster himself debuted not only his own stellar career but the very genesis of thinking man's hip hop on this album.

Fast forward twenty three years and this reissue is just as essential as they day it was released where it's own conciousness has resurfaced in the careers of Common, Eminem, and Jay-Z. Years before Public Enemy championed with A Nation of Millions, the title track exploded from urban street corners to national attention, turning the MC role into a more empowered soap box statesman virtually overnight. Its importance to hip hop is incalcuable, but it's neighboring tracks should not just be ignored. "Dreamin'" and "It's A Shame" croon with the same protest spirit and hip flow.

Collectors, this is a must have.

Copyright © 2005 M. Marion D.