The Message

Just super not my thing.

Title track is great rest kinda sucks

It might be dated but damn does it funk and groove whoooeeee.

Also raise you hand if you also had NO idea half this album was Stevie wonder soul?

Yesterday, I listened to 50 Cent’s debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", arguably the low point of the 1001 Albums Challenge. Today, I moved on to a true rap classic: "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. When the title track was released as a single, it was revolutionary because, yes, there had already been “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, but this was the real catalyst for rap music’s commercial breakthrough. The music was groovy and absolutely danceable, and the lyrics were critical, political and socially conscious. For a moment, it seemed as though rap was the ideal medium for criticising the dire state of political injustice in the world. But, as we all know, the music has since developed in a completely different direction. When I listen to the album "The Message" today, I’m struck by how inconsistent it is. On the one hand, there are critical, highly political tracks such as "The Message" and, in the Expanded Edition released much later, the non album single "New York, New York". On the other hand, the album contains a lot of filler tracks and the catchy electro track "Scorpio". There are a plenty of scratch and mixing and sampling sounds from Grandmaster Flash, as well as a somewhat bizarrely banal R&B tribute to Stevie Wonder. In short, the singles are the absolute highlights of the album; unfortunately, the rest is rather dated pop that bands like Kool & the Gang were doing better back then.

Grandmaster Flash and rapper Melle Mel are undoubtedly historically significant, but this album is neither consistent nor consistently convincing. A rating averaging between ★★☆☆☆ and ★★★★★ amounts to no more than ★★⯪☆☆.

It's aight

boring

4.25

There's old school hip-hop, from Run-DMC to Rakim & Kool G Rap, & then there's the really old school: Whodini, Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash. It's not only a matter of appreciating the pioneering acts that has me loving this record - the music has to be good, I don't care how influential it is. It's the fact that, from another perspective, this is the best musical about New York City this side of West Side Story. You can call it cinematic, but that's not exactly right. It's more like choreographed insight into social reality, & I don't just mean the classic title track. W/ the exception of 'Dreamin',' their odd but touching tribute to Stevie Wonder, & 'You Are,' a random, gospel-inspired track, every song here adds to a pretty deep conception of NYC.

Great album. Wasn’t massively fussed on Scorpio which stopped it from getting a full five

Top Track - It’s Nasty (Genius Of Love)

I believe that this one was very influential for hip hop, and one of the first records from this genre. I appreciate that a lot, it was very funky and groovy, but I can't say I liked it a lot. It was ok. Props for the influence though!

I haven't listened to this album start to finish, but I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, this is _solid_.

This is probably the most inconsistent album I've ever heard in terms of formula and material, not quality. The first two songs are funky hip-hop gold, and then immediately following are two fun but empty songs that tend to drag a bit longer than they should. Then there's two soul songs straight from the heart which are beautiful. Then the legendary title track plays, which I think is great but just a little too long than it should be. Lastly, the closing track is sample mania with, from what I heard, like 6 samples at once. It's very wacky, it's very fun, but a strange listen. I'll bump it to a 4 cause of dreaming, which is one of the best unserious songs I've ever heard.

Delightfully funky and fun with more variation than I had expected. It’s like a love letter to the history of Black music preceding it and a preview of what was to come.

Люблю цей альбом, є на вінілі. Я загалом не те щоб фанат хіп-хопа 80х, але грандмастер флеш це виключення, та і однойменний трек це така класика, що аж Філ Коллінс ріпофнув сміх в пісню дженезіс Mama.
3.5, але тут поставлю 4.

This is a tough one for me. 'The Message' is such a classic track. The rest of the album is all over the place, mostly stuff I wasn't into. It's hard not to recognize the importance of this album in music history though.

Favorite track(s): It's Nasty, Scorpio, The Message

Why did I always imagine they were a two singles act? This was great. I liked the ballads too because it shows how tentative those first steps were for rap. Also Stevie deserves any tribute going.

I'd obviously include the title track in a book of "1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die." The album, however...

2.5/5

Annoyingly not available via Apple Music in Australia, but available on Spotify.

Honestly, this is just the best!! This must have sounded like it came from another planet back in 1982, with only a few other examples of rap out there at the time. The album features a strong theme of what life is like on the mean streets of New York in the early 80s, with a bangin’ soundtrack to go with it. I don't know where hiphip went wrong more recently, coz when I listen to this stuff, it seems like something I should be listening to all the time.

Fun album, paved the way for a lot of what was to come. Iconic tracks sampled in many future hits.