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Grandmaster Flash, with incredible Disco Bee, The Furious Four, Kool DJ A.J., and the Lovebug Starski, with M.C. Kenny Gee, at Mitchell Gym, New York, NY, September 9, 1978
Grandmaster Flash, with incredible Disco Bee, The Furious Four, Kool DJ A.J., and the Lovebug Starski, with M.C. Kenny Gee, at Mitchell Gym, New York, NY, September 9, 1978

Grandmaster Flash, with incredible Disco Bee, The Furious Four, Kool DJ A.J., and the Lovebug Starski, with M.C. Kenny Gee, at Mitchell Gym, New York, NY, September 9, 1978

Performing artist The Kidd Creole
DJ Grandmaster Flash
Performing artist Melle Mel
Performing artist Lovebug Starski
Performing artist Keith Keith
Performing artist Furious Four
Performing artist M.C. Kenny Gee
Performing artist Disco Bee
DJ Kool DJ A.J.
Production company Black Door Productions
Venue Mitchell Gym
Artist Phase 2
Date1978
Mediumink; paper (fiber product)
DimensionsOverall (HWD): 10 15/16 × 8 1/2 in. (27.781 × 21.59 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number1999.261.7
Text Entries

This handbill advertises a 1978 performance of Grandmaster Flash with The Furious Four. Flash later added Funky 4 member Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) to his group to form The Furious Five. Also promoted on the handbill is Disco Bee, who was Grandmaster Flash's record boy. Typically, the record boy is the DJ who performs at the beginning of the show to warm up the crowd. The primary DJ, in this case Grandmaster Flash, later takes over and the record boy, who knows his routine, hands the DJ record.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five 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. 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.

Black and white flyer in black ink listing performers, location and details of event.

PHASE 2 (Michael Lawrence Marrow, b. 1955 – 2019) was a graffiti artist and flyer designer in the early 1980s. Active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies". Phase 2 made numerous flyers for Hip-Hop events and was the first person to use the term "Hip-Hop" on a flyer.

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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Leather Boots Worn by The Kidd Creole of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
The Kidd Creole
Date: c. 1984
Medium: leather
Object number: 1998.805.4.A-.B
"Creole" Leather Jacket Worn by The Kidd Creole
The Kidd Creole
Date: c. 1984
Medium: leather
Object number: 1998.805.1
"Creole" Leather Pants Worn by The Kidd Creole
The Kidd Creole
Date: c. 1984
Medium: leather
Object number: 1998.805.2
Leather Cummerbund Worn by The Kidd Creole
The Kidd Creole
Date: 1978-1988
Medium: leather
Object number: 1998.805.3
Kid Creole, Mele Mel, Keith Keith and Mr. Ness at The Renaissance, Saturday, January 6
The Kidd Creole
Date: 1979
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 2002.396.35
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