Grandmaster Flash talks about his new album The Bridge, how his cocaine habit messed up his love life (you’ll have to cop his upcoming book for details), his love of technology and why he disagrees with Raheim of The Furious Five about not being recognized. Link
I was reading an interview with group member, Raheim, and he basically said that despite the group being inducted he feels that the group has yet to be fully recognized within the hip-hop community. Is that a point of view that you share?
No, I don’t share that [opinion]. I’m a strong believer that if you don’t continue to keep yourself public then there’s a possibility that people won’t remember you. You can’t blame the newer artists or the newer fans for not knowing where you are if you’re not around. I’m a strong believer in going to events, doing concerts, talking to people and asking them what they think.
I’m on a constant search for new music, I like to learn what the new school thinks, and I’m constantly being a servant. My gift is that I serve people musically, and for me I don’t want to be a myth or folklore.
When I read Raheim’s statement it made me think of how many artists from the first generation of hip-hoppers were often financially exploited by record labels. Do you feel as if the industry still owes you something for that exploitation?
Life is lessons and blessings. Right now, financially, I’m doing pretty well. I don’t think it’s repayment that I’m looking for; I’m looking to just be a part of this culture that we call hip-hop since I’m one of the creators. I’m not going to go around screaming for repayment, or this person owes me this, [because] that happened and it was a lesson and a blessing. I’m still here today and right now you don’t need a huge conglomerate to have a record label that can make some noise. So that’s how I’m looking at it: the possibilities and the window of opportunity are huge right now.
