JayQuan : Peace , its an
honor.....im not gonna ask you about the single pole double throw switch , or Pete Dj
Jones . Im gonna try to ask some things that I never heard you answer . ........... How did
you actually hook up with Mean Gene & Grandwizard Theodore (The L Brothers) ?
Grandmaster Flash : Well , after I
had already taken 3 - 4 years to create the Dj art form which I call the quick mix theory
, which included cutting , backspinning etc...I was a searching scientist . I would drag
things in from backyards, abandoned cars - electrical items like speakers , thrown out
stereo equipment - because I was in search of something. I got to an age when my family
was really pissed about it . I decided to make a move , I took my equipment and I met a
gentleman named Gene Livingston . I lived on 138th St and Cypress Ave. he lived 168th
& Boston Rd . In meeting Mean Gene he was known as the block bully - you really didnt
wanna piss him off . He was willing to be my partner . The majority of the equipment was
his and I added mine.
I got comfortable with my equipment staying there . His mother Mrs Mary
Livingston was a sweetheart , she treated me like I was one of her children. I practiced
at his house and honed my craft . Mean Gene had the back room of his mothers
apartment . She had one of those old school apartments that was really big . Genes room
was way in the back...you had to go through the living room to get there . When I
would go through the living room there was this little kid in the living room playing
around with his mothers stereo . I noticed he was able to find the beggining of the break
on a record...he would do this with one turntable .
He would pick the needle up when
the break was about to end ; he would pick the needle up and drop it in the precise spot
where the break began . I was so amazed by this !! I couldnt do that . I had to come up
with the clock theory , which is bringing the record back mathematically x anount of
revolutions to arrive at the top of the break , by a mark on the record . He was able to
do this by picking up the needle and dropping it right on the groove . I found this so
amazing !! I told Gene that his brother was doing what I wished I could do. I was trying
to show Gene this new found way of Djing..I called it the needle drop. I asked if we could
incorporate his brother into the group , because at this time we wanted to do any and
everything to get noticed. The person who was the overlord and had all the recognition by
himself was Kool Herc. He was the man to shoot for . I thought that since the few people
that I was showing this to couldn't do it , not only would it be a relief to me , but a
great gimmick because he was so young and short for his age. Gene said " Flash if I
catch you with my little brother on the set , its gonna be me & you". I was like
fine...this was Mean Gene Livingston the neighborhood bully - you didnt want to get into
any shit with him . I respected his wishes for a minute , but as soon as he left the
neighborhood ; I would get his brother , and take a milk crate and turn it upside down and
I had him stand on. I told him to do what he did on his moms stereo. We kept it secret for
a long time . After awhile I had to tell Gene that his brother had the technique down and
I took him to 63 park with me . People found him so amazing . He actually looked better
than me doing it because he wasso little . It got Gene pretty upset and me & him
couldn't perform in the same groupso I had to leave . Thats when I formed my own group.
JQ : What are your 3 favorite
Breakbeats of all time ?
GMF : Apache , Star Wars
&...hmmm this is hard.....Mardis Gras (the bells) by Bob
James .
JQ : What is your relationship to
EZ Mike & Disco Bee ?
GMF : Whooaaa good questions !!
.....EZ Mike is my childhood buddy . I have beenknowing him for most of my life . After
this style of Djing became popular , he was one of the few people who caught onto it , but
he wasn't interested , and he went astray . He led the other life , and it got him
in some trouble - we were disconnected for ten or twelve years ; and we just reconnected
this year . Mike is the one in all the pictures with us. He is on the Message album cover
with us . He has a clean head and is very focused now . Disco Bee is in
Greensborough , but whenever I have gigs where I need his experience I call him out . He
has a family and lives down South but he still rolls with me . They both do....they were
both my assistants .
JQ : When the group split EZ Mike
went with Mels faction right ?
GMF : Yes , at that time things
were rough on Mike , and I think that Mel made himan offer to basically be me . I left
because I was fed up with the whole situation . There were still shows and money to be
made , but I didnt want to do it anymore.The closest thing to me on the wheels was Mike ,
because Disco Bee didn't really have the dexterity . So they coerced Mike into going on
the road with them . I didn't get mad at him because he had to make a livin' .
JQ : Whats your favorite GMF &
F5 release on the Sugarhill label ?
GMF : Freedom
JQ : Did you realize that "
Adventures On The Wheels " was making an impact outside of New York ?
GMF : In America nobody cared. The
only person who ever gave the record a chance was Frankie Crocker . Nobody here really
understood it. When it was released in Europe , Germany & Japan it was like " oh
God he is here " . I was a hero to so many people that it scared me . I expected this
reaction in America , but I didnt get it.
JQ : Did you get any flack from the
label about releasing that type of record?
GMF : No she (Sylvia) encouraged it
. I approached her many times about it . I just would drop it in her ear " Sylvia can
I make a cut record ?" After awhile wewere coming off tour and she flew me & Mel
in and said lets do this record . She told me to pick the records that I wanted to use and
we did it .
JQ : Did you do it in one take ?
GMF : Nah...it took 3 takes . The
first was just getting familiar with moving from one turntable to the next - the dexterity
. The second time was getting even more familiar , and the third time I just locked it in
.
JQ : Was the Bozo Meko version of
"Flash To The Beat" authorized by you ?
GMF : No...just someone bootlegged
it from a party.
JQ : What about " We Rap More
Mellow " ?
GMF : Well Furious and I got into a
real bad disagreement and split for awhile . Terry Lewis had been after the guys to record
for awhile. I wasn't really pleasedwith him . When we split he got to the guys . They made
the record , but they couldn't use the real name , so they used that name (Younger
Generation).
JQ : Scorpio told me , & I
quote " its good being a part of our group , but sometimes I think GMF & F5 are
some of the stupidest motherfu*%rs in the world . Mel & Flash cant get along , and
thats why we aren't out here getting this money like Rolling Stones , Kiss & Aerosmith
. Mel & Flash hold grudges for 15 years - thats why we arent out there now" . Is
that accurate?
GMF : Its true . I think what
crushed me is Mel was my golden child in my formula , and when he sided with Sylvia for
just a couple of seconds it crushed me . When Iput this formula together he wasn't a
center ; he was a point guard . He was suchan important factor in the formula , I
cant imagine what she could have said to him that would make him not see the same vision .
When we stopped looking at the same vision it all fell apart . Someone else was able to
whisper in his ear and itcrushed me . When we were fully focused we were unstoppable
. When we all stopped looking at the same prize , I said this is really over .
JQ : Do you feel that if you had
been a strong unit in 82-83 , that you could have prevented some of Run Dmc & the next
school from emerging as powerful as they did?
GMF : I think that the ball was
dropped , so the timing was perfect . They didn't really take advantage of anything - the
ball didnt bounce anymore . If you werewatching the Bulls play ball , and all of a sudden
Pippen & Jordan dont get alonganymore , and the ball just stops bouncing - someone
else is gonna pick it up and go with it . So the ball was dropped by Jordan & Pippen
so to speak .
I want you to put this in your
interview- the beatbox is a manually operated drumbox that I used to play while I was
Djing . It was a machine made in England by Vox.It had a bass drum key , snare , hi hats
and hand claps . I used to play this like a typewriter almost .
The phrase beat
box was coined by me , but it didn't reach the masses . Well it went to sleep and
reemerged with people doing it with their mouths.So the human beatbox is these guys
emulating something that I created - I just want people to know that . My neighbor was a
drummer who used it to keep his fingers nimble . Whenever he couldn't set up his drums he
used this . He lived in the projects - 149th & Jackson Ave . I begged him to sell it
to me , he sold it to me for $125.00 .
JQ : Where did the "B
Team" replacement guys come from after the split ?
GMF : Lavon & Broadway were
good friends with Rahiem . Him & Creole were comfortable with these guys . They were
pretty good , but they were never my template . It was ok....a way to keep the name alive
. Of course the original F5 is untouchable . Once I discovered the disarray I was in at
Sugarhill , I had aquired friends at record labels . Once we legally got out , I met Bob
Krasnow - the big cheese at Elektra. 
I talked to him , and explained my
situation . I learned how to sign a deal the industry way , which was a little
different from the way we did it previously . The records we did were ok , but they wanted
the original group . I told Bob that it wouldnt be cheap , and it would be hard to do .
When I talked to them they were happy about it - they were with it . They said we just
need a few things - I got what they needed . Then I had a real good relationship with a
car dealer in Long Island . Rahiem wanted a BMW , Scorp wanted a Benz and so did Mel.
Creole wanted a Benz and Cowboy didn't want a car . Cowboy rode shotgun with Scorp
or Mel . Once the deal was made with Elektra we went to Long Island , put the order in ,
and we drove out of there with 2 BMWs & 3 Mercedes . We drove from Long Island to Ny -
we drove through the Bronx following each other through our old neighborhood like we are
back !!! It was almost like an advertisment . But it was my deal , and too many people
were messing with the structure of it . I could have saved the deal because Bob was my
friend . But I would tell Bob its red , and then here comes someone saying its green - and
Bobs all confused - it just got messier and messier.
JQ : Is there any relationship with
you and any Furious members ?
GMF : I see Rahiem sometimes , we
hug - I dont see Creole , Mels on the West coast. I saw Scorp about a year and a half ago
- he is in Atlanta . Thats where its at . In my heart im missing Cowboy too much. He was
the reason that my Dj invention was able to explode . He was the one who believed . When I
created this Dj artform I tried to mix and talk at the same time . My theory was if I can
run these breaks one behind the other on time ; the parks gonna go crazy . The park was
like a seminar - everybody just watched. I cried for like a week - then I tried to talk
myself and it didnt work . Then many tried and failed - but Cowboy had this ringmaster
voice , and he had these Simon says tactics - call & response . It was a great
diversionary tactic because people stopped watching me. It gave me a chance to finally
exercise my Science . He kinda saved my life . Him an Theodore reassured me that I
had something . Its like how do you replace Cowboy? I just couldn't do that again - I love
& I miss him so much . He was the first , like my first born . Its like dad missing
his kids still . So what Scorp said in essence is that early on we were pretty stupid to
not get together . But after so many years passed as human beings you have to make a
living - we have children , and you believe in your craft . You push on and dont wait for
anybody to give you anything. By the grace of God I have been pretty fortunate . I just
wish that my second in command had continued to believe in me - thats Mele Mel .
JQ : Yeah it hurt me when you guys
broke up. And its sad that when people mention GMF&F5 they just know the Message ,
which wasn't even a group effort . There was so much more before the Message.
GMF : That record was the demise of
my formula . The price was too high to pay for that record . It was the beggining of the
end . I fought Sylvia and I cried & cried , and thats when I got into drugs to escape
reality. A stranger came in and dividedand conqured basically . When I lost the love &
belief of Mel there was no way it could properly survive. We couldnt relate , couldn't sit
in the same dressing room. When we toured we didnt strategize & talk like we used to -
thats what it took to put that group together .
Me & Mel used to consult each
other . Then came the ugly court battle & she stuck Grandmaster on Mel & the
pain continued. This is how I feed my children ; as great as Mel is he don't have to put
Grandmaster on his name for the sake of a record company that don't like me . It hurt both
of us and confused the public . People wanted to book Grandmaster Flash , but is it the Dj
,or the guy with the long hair , or the guy with the muscles?
JQ : Peace ....its an Honor
As told to Jayquan on 06/11/02
©2002 JayQuan Dot Com
*thanks to Pete Dj Jones*
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