Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's
The Message is a triumphant work in the history of
rap and
hip-hip. Released in
1982, it is one of major overtly
political songs in the history of the genre, and chronicles the troubles of Americans living in the
ghettos of the early 80s.
The DJ beat and melody created by Flash for The Message was innovative in its use of techno sounding effects, and wouldn't sound too out of place today were it sped up a bit. It has been recycled for use by Ice Cube in Check Yo Self and by P Diddy or whatever he's called in some song. Of course these represent bastardizations.