In this September, 1983 interview, Bob LaBrasca and Larry Sloman interviewed Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. On the occasion of Grandmaster Flash’s birthday on January 1, we’re republishing the whole thing below.
“Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five” sounds like the name of a group with a lead vocalist and five backup singers, but it’s not that way at all. Flash himself does next to nothing vocally; he pilots the turntables onstage to provide the musical backdrop for the raps and songs laid down by the rest of the group. And there are not six members as the name implies, but seven when you count E-Z Mike, Flash’s assistant, who throws down with everyone else when the stage lights come up.