November 25-December 1, 2004

musicpicks

Grandmaster Flash

hip-hop

Before technology allowed everybody with a laptop to call themselves a DJ, there used to be a rule: You had to cut and scratch on a record. Boogie Down Bronx native Grandmaster Flash invented the art form in the 1970s. He fought for turntablism to be respected as a musical skill, same as playing a guitar. Alongside the Furious Five, Flash crafted "The Message" and other recognized, beloved songs that exposed the world to the ghetto streets and birthed the hip-hop movement. Thirty years later, Flash is questing to further the culture by crafting educational curricula centered on turntablism. "It's like a jungle sometimes; it makes me wonder how I keep from going under." Classic.

--Deesha Dyer

Wed., Dec. 1, 10 p.m., free with RSVP, 21+, with Biz Markie, Mike Nyce, Statik, The Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St., 215-574-0700.