Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five are set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 63rd Grammy Awards next year.
The group released their iconic six-minute single “The Message” in 1982 after coming together four years prior in the South Bronx, New York. The song's beat and lyrics have been sampled numerous times over the years on songs like "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down," by Puff Daddy featuring Mase and Meek Mill's "Stay Woke."
Grandmaster Flash is a hip-hop DJ pioneer, credited with being the first to use turntables as an instrument and gave the genre the iconic record scratches.
Members of the group include Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Scorpio, and Rahiem, who posted his reaction to receiving the news of the award to Instagram.
He told HipHopDX, “I didn’t know the Grammys knew we existed, but it’s very nice we weren’t forgotten and it’s a tremendous honor.” He added, “It’s still sinking in, though, so when the feeling finally hits me, a celebration of some sort will commence.”
The group did have some tragedies with their success. They lost group mate Keef Cowboy in 1989 to a drug overdose. Most recently, in 2017, Kidd Creole was arrested in NYC for fatally stabbing a homeless man.
To preserve their contributions to hip-hop culture and music, their legendary single was added to the National Recording Registry archives in 2002. Five years later, Jay-Z inducted the group into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Grammys are scheduled for January 31, 2021 and will include in-person and virtual performances. Trevor Noah is set to host.
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