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The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party

Performing artist Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Record company Sugar Hill Records (NYC)
Date1981
Mediumpolyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
DimensionsOverall (HW): 12 1/4 × 12 1/4 in. (31.115 × 31.115 cm)
Overall (Diameter): 11 7/8 in. (30.163 cm)
Credit LineGift of Vince Aletti MoPOP permanent collection
Object number2002.61.2073.A,.B
Text Entries

“The Birthday Party / The Birthday Party (Instrumental)” is a two-track vinyl released in 1981 by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5. Released under Sugar Hill Records, this vinyl was produced by Jigsaw Inc. Productions and Sylvia Inc. Productions.

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5 expanded the culture of Hip-Hop across the globe with their rapping and DJing skills. Making their debut as a group that performed for local parties in the Bronx then the world, the Furious 5 included Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler, b. 1958), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover, b.1961), his brother The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover, b.1960), Keef Cowboy (Robert Keith Wiggins, b. 1960-1989), Mr. Ness a.k.a. Scorpio (Eddie Morris, b. 1960), and Rahiem (Guy Williams, b.1963) from the Funky 4+1 more. The group is widely regarded as one of the greatest Hip-Hop groups of all time and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 as the first Hip-Hop group to be inducted. With hits like, “Freedom”, “Birthday Party” and “The Message”, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five stood out as a unique group due to their ability to finish each other’s rhymes, mixing melodies and harmonies while also being able to keep the crowd hyped and engaged.

Sugar Hill is written in cursive red, blue, and yellow striped colored font. There is a blue skyline of a city in the middle of the cover over a light blue background. 
CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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The Birthday Party / The Birthday Party (Instrumental)
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: 1981
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.337.27.A,.B
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Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: 1981
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.235.19.A,.B
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Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: July 1, 1982
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 1998.441.10.A,.B
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Date: 1979
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.235.10.A,.B
New York, New York (Vocal) / New York, New York (Instrumental)
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: 1983
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.337.53.A,.B
Super Rappin' Theme / Super Rappin' No. 2
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: 1980
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.482.17.A,.B
A Skate-Dance Contest! Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5, Elizabeth, NJ, September 10, 1981
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5
Date: 1981
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.733.45
It's Nasty (Genius of Love) / It's Nasty (Genius of Love)
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Date: 1981
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2000.19.7.A,.B
Freedom (Vocal) / Freedom (Instrumental)
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Date: 1980
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2000.19.13.A,.B
Step Off / Step Off (Short Version)
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Date: 1984
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.337.35.A,.B
Beat Street / Internationally Known (Part 1) + Internationally Known (Part 2)
Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five
Date: 1984
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 1998.395.7.A,.B
We Don't Work For Free / We Don't Work For Free (Instrumental)
Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five
Date: 1984
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 2001.337.55.A,.B
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