Grandmaster Flash risked his life for the love of music

I just finished reading a great book called On the Record, which was produced by the folks at the Scratch DJ Academy. It’s an excellent resource when it comes to the history, business and craft of DJing, and it features tips and anecdotes from a wide range of accomplished contributors.

I’ll be telling you more about the book in a minute, but for the moment I wanted to share a pretty sobering tale from the mouth of Grandmaster Flash himself.

“My father collected records obsessively,” Flash says in the book. “I was never to touch them or his turntable, which was in the living room. When I was six I started disobeying that. I’d drag a chair into his bedroom, get up on it, and open the closet. Then I’d grab the record I wanted to hear and take it to the living room, get up on another chair, and play it. When he got back, the records would be out of order, and he’d beat me.

“Still, the next day, as soon as he went to work, I’d be back in that closet. I ended up in the hospital several times from his beatings, and once he took my hands and held them on a radiator until they burned. It still didn’t stop me. I risked my life for the love of music.”

Pretty shocking stuff. I mean, everything obviously worked out fine for Flash in the long run. His role as a major architect of hip hop, and therefore of popular culture around the world, can’t be denied. But he clearly had some pretty difficult beginnings, and the fact that he persevered only makes his easier to appreciate his accomplishments.

Anyway, more to come shortly on the book – which, by the way, is just one of many terrific books recommended by the Make Some Noise program at the Toronto Public Library. I really can’t say enough good things about this program, and I encourage you read whatever they throw at you.

Posted in Uncategorized