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A Night to Remember Featuring G.W. Theodore, Fantastic 5 MCs, JCB Cheba Crew, Outer Skates Roller Rink, Jersey City, NJ, April 15, 1982
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A Night to Remember Featuring G.W. Theodore, Fantastic 5 MCs, JCB Cheba Crew, Outer Skates Roller Rink, Jersey City, NJ, April 15, 1982

Guest performer Grand Wizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five
Date1982
Mediumink; paper (fiber product)
DimensionsOverall (HW): 8 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (21.59 × 16.51 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number1999.733.225
Text Entries

Party flyers were a staple in the early years of Hip-Hop and hard-copy invitations were the main medium for communicating information and promoting an event. The flyers symbolized many key appearances, acts, conventions, DJ performances, and contests in the Hip-Hop scene. Many flyers were created by local graffiti artists such as Buddy Esquire and Phase 2. The flyers were often presented by Hip-Hop promoters, DJs, and MCs who hosted the parties. Money was given to the artist to draw creative art and graphics for about $40-$60 for approximately 1,000 party flyers. The parks’ open public spaces have provided the perfect venues for park jams, impromptu dance-offs, DJ battles, and rap battles that established the sound, fashion, art, and message of Hip-Hop. Most of the Hip-Hop parties were a space for positivity where many of the Hip-Hop community could escape the realities of racism that included police brutality, drug abuse, and gang violence in their surrounding communities.

Many of the original Hip-Hop parties took place at local roller rinks, community centers, parks, and clubs. Roller rinks were an important cultural site for fun in the late 70s and 80s where adults and teens would attend roller discos and Hip-Hop parties.  The space would be used as a place for DJs to spin, rappers to show their talents, and for breakers to showcase their dancing skills on the large skate floor. Community centers were another important space in the early years of Hip-Hop for youth to gather and escape their everyday life. Additionally, community centers and recreation centers were the original spaces where DJ Kool Herc would spin in his early era of DJing. The community centers such as the Bronx River Center and the PAL were usually located in the middle of the projects. But local promoters would give parties and give money back to the center for books and trips for the local kids in the community.

Often referred to as the Fantastic Freaks or Fantastic Romantic 5. The Fantastic Five consisted of Grand Wizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston), Dot-A-Rock (Darryl Mason), Ruby Dee (Rubin Garcia), Master Rob (Robin Strong) and the Original Kevie Kev (Kevin Strong). Known for their single, "Can I Get A Soul Clap" (1980) The group also appeared in the film Wild Style (1982) and recorded a song in 1994 with the Cold Crush Brothers and Terminator X which appeared on Terminator X's album, Super Bad.

Party flyer in black ink listing performers, location and details of event.
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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A Triple Birthday Celebration, featuring Master Rob, G.W. Theodore, L.A. Sunshine, Outer Skates, Jersey City, NJ, March 11, 1982
Grand Wizzard Theodore
Date: 1982
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.733.141
Showdown Time, at Harlem World, New York, NY, January 9, 1982
Grand Wizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five
Date: 1982
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.757.2
Outer Skates Presents Treacherous Three, Added Touch, DJ Xavier, Outer Skates Roller Skating Rink, Jersey City, NJ October 16, 1981
Treacherous Three
Date: 1981
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.733.154
The Herculords, Kool Kyle "The Starchild", Grand Wizard Theodore at the T-Connection, November 22,1979
Grand Wizzard Theodore
Date: 1979
Medium: paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 1999.123.4
A Birthday Blast for Charlie D, Fantastic Romantic 5, Grand Wiz Theodore, Elks, November 20,1981
Fantastic Romantic 5
Date: 1981
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.757.23
Outer Skates Presents a Record Promotional Party for the Cold Crush Brothers, Friday, April 9
Cold Crush Brothers
Date: c. 1980
Medium: ink; paper (fiber product)
Object number: 1999.733.136
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