Celebrating HIP HOP FEVER 2022 at Lehman College

Whenever you hear of sure occasions about to transpire, a complete different stage of anticipation is sparked. Whereas some reveals profess traditional lineups, the HIP HOP FEVER 2022 at Lehman Faculty introduced again the texture of late ’70s, the infancy of hip hop. At that juncture stacked celebrity laden lineups would carry packed homes to venues such because the T Connection, Ecstasy Storage, the PAL (on Webster Avenue) the Hoe Avenue Boys or Harlem World. That really feel permeated amongst a couple of that had been milling about awaiting entry, and whereas there the query of who was gonna shut down the present arose. The consensus of the small congregation went to the house crew!

Can’t entrance, I felt validated as that was how I felt. Within the vein of a real Bronxian the showstopper as they at all times will probably be hometown heroes SCORPIO and MELE MEL of the Livid 5 plus Grandmaster Flash!! Whereas the feelings could also be a little bit biased, info are info. Grandmaster Flash and the Livid had been the BAR when there was no BAR. They created and set the usual for a hip hop group in addition to EMCEE excellence. Since we had no fanzines or social media, we by no means acquired an opportunity to know and perceive the group make-up, so I went to one of many sources to get a correct understanding. Stated Mele Mel a couple of days earlier than the present, “We stated it in rhymes, he was so good together with his palms he don’t want no band. He was modern together with his cuts, and he did introduce the Beat Field stay. Scorpio was the King of Finesse he was the primary emcee to have what we name now SWAG. Me and my brother Child Creole had been the traditional rhymers. Rahiem was the up and comer we wanted to develop our viewers. He had the starvation and was an excellent emcee. Final he stated, ‘Cowboy was the perfect rapper we had and was the center and soul of the group. He had the voice the women cherished and was a complete crowd controller.’” Melding their skills with onerous work made them the usual bearers within the streets after which got here the surprising; rap performances made it to wax. An outlet tailored for the group. “We tried to make our reveals as entertaining as doable, we had uniforms, dance steps, routines and harmonies in our performances and we had been effectively rehearsed. Once we hit the studio, it was like a second dwelling. We had been ready, all we needed to do was execute,” he stated.

With all of the elements in place success was imminent if the correct materials got here alongside. “The dynamic of the group modified once we turned skilled recording artists. We had been nonetheless nice emcees, and I began concentrating on precise songs,” Mel shared. For a perspective, if rap was a style that was embraced since its inception by the trade, yearly since 1979 the Livid 5 would have been in competition for RAP tune/file of the yr at each main award present. “Superrappin,” “Freedom,” “Birthday Social gathering,” and “It’s Nasty” confirmed the separation of what genuine emcees had been. In 1982 nevertheless the sport modified ceaselessly with the discharge of “The Message.” (Wow, that’ll be 40 years this summer time)

Prepared or not that piece of labor positioned a stage of accountability that the BEST of the BEST needed to aspire to. “That file turned hip hop right into a grown man,” Mel emphatically acknowledged. To assume, if the group had their druthers, it wouldn’t have been made. Not one of many teams on the label felt the observe however Mel was keen to take an opportunity. Whereas the showmanship was intact the group realized extra was wanted to make that transition from hood celebrities to superstardom. Enter the producer, Sylvia Robinson, who offered the teaching and steerage. “We had the most effective producers in MUSIC, not simply hip hop, MUSIC! She was in a position to hear issues that we didn’t and was in a position to give us path as a result of she was successful. Timing is every thing and Mrs. Robinson understood that. No person thought the file would do something, however she knew and believed.” He continued, “After the tune was recorded it took 72 hours to get the precise combine that she needed together with the time. She needed it to be 7 minutes and 11 seconds.” The remainder was literal historical past. That was the file that gave Mele Mel worldwide and immortal clientele. Thus far, the key plaudits are:

“The Message” was No. 5 on VH1’s “100 Best Songs of Hip Hop”

“The Message” turns into the primary recording by a rap act to be inducted into the Library of Congress’s Nationwide Recording Registry.