1982
1982 · Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five · USA
The Message
Hip-HopRapConscious 7:21 Genre-Defining Disco, Punk & Funk
AlbumThe Message
LabelSugar Hill
The first great narrative rap song: a cinematic portrait of urban poverty that begins as social observation and ends in arrest. Melle Mel's relentless litany of street despair ('broken glass everywhere / people pissing on the stairs') was unprecedented in pop music.
Musical Significance
Established hip-hop as literature and social documentary. Moved rap from party music to protest art in a single record. The opening synth riff is immediately recognizable; the song influenced every conscious rapper who followed.
Historical Context
Recorded in 1982, when New York City was at its nadir: bankrupt, crime-ridden, abandoned by the federal government. The South Bronx had a 40% unemployment rate. The song is a news report from a war zone.