"Freedom," by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: Gold Single Award Presented to Guy Todd "Raheim" Williams by Sugar Hill Records

Sugar Hill Records, "Freedom," by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Gold single award presented to Guy Todd "Raheim" Williams by Sugar Hill Records, March 1, 1981. Rahiem received this award for Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's first gold record, “Freedom.”  The band based their song on "Get Up and Dance," which was recorded by the 1970s soul band Freedom.  As is true with almost all early commercial hip-hop records, the MCs are backed by a live band rather than their DJ.  As a result, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's live performance of the hit sounded very different than the recording.  "Freedom" peaked at No. 19 on the R&B charts in September 1980.

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 and 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 the first Hip-Hop group to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. 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.