Grandmaster Flash on “Birth of a Culture”

Grandmaster Flash has been an innovator in the art of d.j.’ing since he was practically a child growing up in the Bronx. As a young man named Joseph Saddler, he spent his days trying to figure out how to make the drum breaks in his favorite songs last longer and longer. Now in his late sixties, Flash remains as devoted to the art of the turntable as ever. In a new memoir, “Birth of a Culture,” he looks at hip-hop’s earliest days, as the music made its way from outdoor parties to huge venues like the Audubon Ballroom. He tells David Remnick how his creative innovations were born of an obsession with electronics, and why he views his group’s biggest hit, “The Message,” as the beginning of the end of a glorious moment in hip-hop culture. 

Further reading: 

• “Grandmaster Flash’s Remix of Hip-Hop History,” by Vinson Cunningham

 

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.

 

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