It was Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry who first let the world at large know that 'Flash is fast' and 'Flash is cool'. Blondie's hit song Rapture picked up what band members had been hearing in clubs and on the streets of New York City, name-checked the people who were making the music - and sold it all to the mainstream. The year was 1981, and by then Flash - aka DJ Grandmaster Flash - had established himself at the forefront of the rap movement that marked the dawning of the age of hip hop. But it was still a regional thing. What Blondie's song did was top the charts in the US. As the song's success spread globally, so did interest in what was going on in the Big Apple and, specifically, what Flash was doing behind his DJ decks. 'At the time, I was going around to parks and clubs trying to spread my music by teaching people this new way of DJing or by going to clubs and doing the same,' says the master turntablist born Joseph Saddler. 'How did the music spread? I don't know. At that stage I was just teaching people one-on-one and showing them what to do in clubs.' But by 1982, Flash and his bandmates in The Furious Five had turned music industry interest into a recording contract and out came The Message. And although Blondie may get credit for the first hit song using rap, The Message was the first time people heard the bone fide genre, with its hard-hitting lyrics about the struggles and frustrations of ghetto life - 'Don't push me 'cos I'm close to the edge, I'm tryin' not to lose my head. It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under'. Those wanting to find out what the music was all about needed to look no further, particularly those in far-flung climes such as Asia. 'As a kid, I had a cassette tape of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,' says local rapper Ghost Style (aka Brandon Ho). 'I remember feeling it was special and that's because it was funkier than the programmed drum beats of albums I had heard like [the Beastie Boys'] Licensed to Ill, or [Run DMC's] Raising Hell. At the time I was into rock, pop, and that cassette gave me a glimpse into the worlds of funk and rap music.' For Flash, who grew up known in the South Bronx, the rap scene was a natural progression from the music he had heard as a child. 'The first time I listened to my father's record collection, that was the music biz for me when I was very young,' he says. 'The music included mostly jazz and some funk. My father was my inspiration because he was a heavy collector of records and [fellow hip hop pioneer] Kool Herc because the music he was playing was not radio music but funky and warm.' The block parties in his neighbourhood were where Flash and his friends began mixing the music they had grown up listening to. What made Flash different was the fact he was the first to manually manipulate the records, backwards and forwards - the DJing style that is now second nature to any DJ. 'In the classic movie Wild Style [1983], there are scenes with Grandmaster Flash cutting records in his kitchen,' says Ghost Style. 'It's amazing to see how DJing has progressed from that in a relatively short period. He was a pioneer of hip hop culture and I just remember watching him and thinking the brother had style.' Such has been Flash's influence on the music world that - along with the Furious Five - he was this year inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. It was a first for musicians from the world of hip hop. 'In the years since we started, the only thing that has changed is subject matter and less sampling, from a musical standpoint,' says Flash. 'The DJ culture has become huge. What has allowed it to spread over the world is the commercial vehicle. 'Although the commercialism may be hated, the commercial vehicle has allowed people like me to become public by way of TV, radio and magazines. Media is truly important.' Constant recording and touring - he's in town next week to play at Dragon-i - have also enabled Flash's music to reach the world at large. And it's the 'live' aspect of his life that he says keeps the juices flowing, some 30-odd years since he first picked up a record and pressed play. 'I still get excited over new music, like that newest track, that excites me,' says Flash. 'It allows me to keep digging to find the next track. With all the different sub-genres there is more to look at now. The digital aspect of music and the new opportunities it presents, it is all about the future. Then there's the euphoria, the pandemonium you get from an audience that keeps me coming back.' And for fans in Asia, Flash's music still serves as an inspiration. 'He did for hip hop what the MP3 has done for music listeners in general - he simply changed the rules of the game,' says Ghost Style. 'His innovation or invention of techniques opened a new world both for the DJ and hip hop itself. Not many people can have that on their resume.' Grandmaster Flash, Wed, 11pm, Dragon-i, 1/F, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham St, Central, HK$200. Inquiries: 3110 1222
