Hip-hop heads are in disbelief that music icon Grandmaster Flash is coming to Delaware next month to deliver a lecture and a turntable demonstration.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will deliver a free, one-hour audiovisual lecture at the Wilmington Public Library on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Tickets to RSVP will become available at 9:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17. Guests are required to reserve tickets in advance. This event will likely sell out the same day tickets go live, so fans won’t want to sleep on this.
Middletown rapper Zeeky El, formerly of Wilmington and New Castle, is shocked Grandmaster Flash will share his musical wisdom in Delaware.
“I am hype and just grateful that a legend and a hip-hop pioneer, of the caliber of Grandmaster Flash, would take the time to give even more of himself as an elder in the culture,” said the rapper, whose mixtape “Grapes + Sorbetto” is streaming on various social platforms, including YouTube.
Zeeky El added that hip-hop deserves to be taught and learned with the same academic seriousness as musicians tackling classical music.
“Hip-hop’s pioneers should be respected and revered the same way the educational system does for William Shakespeare,” he added.
“Robert ‘RZA’ Diggs of the Wu-Tang Clan is a far more advanced writer than Shakespeare ever was. In fact, every member of the Wu-Tang could outshine Mr. Shakespeare on their worst day.”
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Newark emcee Jamal “Relay” James said it will be a one-of-a-kind experience to see Grandmaster Flash “ripping it up on the turntable” next month.
James is part of the Dover-based rap trio Cypher Clique with his little brother Daryl (James Major) and friend Mike Thomas (Mic Anthony).
The rap trio, which has played the Firefly Music Festival, is dropping a new project titled “For the Algorithm” on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
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While Relay said legends like Flash helped open the door for modern artists like himself, he can’t help but notice that the current state of hip-hop glorifies too much negativity.
He’d rather see the genre push more conscious rap that offers solutions to social issues and politics, which had a greater presence in rap music in the ‘90s era.
“I’d say about 78% of the music today sounds the same,” he said.
“People are entitled to freedom of speech,” he added, before explaining he’d like to see a balance where more positive rap gets a boost. “There are kids who are looking to the hip-hop stars as role models and (to a certain level) whatever they’re rapping about, they’re going to be influenced by it.”
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Dover rapper Amillion Lucas, better known as “Amillion the Poet,” said through his lens, he’s optimistic about the modern era of rap because it’s reaching new fans, it’s accessible around the world and hip-hop culture has had a major impact on his life.
The artist, who tours internationally, dropped the project “1NA Flows,” and makes the majority of his income from hip-hop. The genre has afforded him the chance to provide for his teenage daughter; start his “1NA Radio Show” on iHeart Radio; and launch his label 1NA Records, to which he signed Wilmington artist Kason Miller.
He thanks Grandmaster Flash for paving the way for artists like him to pay his bills.
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“With me being an artist, we’re always taught to salute the DJs,” said Amillion, who played Firefly in 2018. “He’s in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. … He’s one of the original forefathers.”
Earlier this month, Amillion got into the bottled water business and debuted his drink 1NA Alkaline Water, which is available at Dick’s Sporting Goods, ALDI and other local shops, he said.
She loves Flash, The Fugees and Wu-Tang
Wilmington resident Shannon Branch, who owns Sound Body Studio on Concord Pike in Talleyville, grew up listening to hip-hop acts in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
She said some of the newer artists are OK, but she’s missing that feeling she used to get from older acts.
“I grew up in the space of Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang, Biggie, Eric B. & Rakim, Fugees, Geto Boys, Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,” Branch explained. “I just don’t hear that sound anymore, that vibe. Maybe it’s a generational thing.”
She called it “amazing” that Grandmaster Flash is coming to her neck of the woods to educate the community in November. “Someone with his knowledge and experience could be an inspiration to the next generation of artists.”
Who’s Grandmaster Flash?
In the 1970s, Grandmaster Flash started out deejaying in Bronx house parties.
He was the first DJ to lay his fingertips on the body of a vinyl record and scratch it in a backward, forward or counterclockwise motion, whereas most DJs at the time simply put records on and let them play, according to his official bio.
The rap group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five went multiplatinum with their mega single, “The Message,” which dropped in the 1980s.
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Over the years, Grandmaster Flash performed all around the world and was hand-picked by Chris Rock to spend five years as the music director for his HBO series, “The Chris Rock Show” (1997-2000).
In 2007, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was the first hip-hop group ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
More recently, New York’s “Flash has played for audiences as large as the Super Bowl and as elite as Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain,” per his bio.
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This year the Wilmington Public Library celebrates its 100th anniversary, and that milestone was complemented by its recognition by the White House with the National Medal of Museum of Library Service, the most prestigious award a library can achieve.
Last month the library hosted the cast of “A Different World” and Hollywood Walk of Fame actress Jenifer Lewis. Last year NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman was a guest.
Wilmington Library’s fans on Facebook have been going wild over these events, including the one with Flash.
“No bleeping way!” one person wrote, in response to the iconic DJ coming to Wilmington.
“A Different World cast and now this!” another excited fan wrote.
“Wilmington Library is snappin with these events!” a proud supporter said.
White House reporter April Ryan is coming to Wilmington on Oct. 27, followed by a live debate between famous TV personality Judge Joe Brown and New York Times contributor Dr. Michael Eric Dyson on Nov. 3.
Comedian and actor Tommy Davidson will deliver a talk and book signing for “Living in Color: What’s Funny about Me” on Nov. 10.
‘A bit overwhelming’
Jamar Rahming, director of Wilmington Public Library, said his goal over the last few years has been about bringing empowerment to the city.He’s aimed to accomplish that by attracting world-renowned guests to Wilmington whom residents will get a chance to learn from for free because some folks don’t have the means to see these individuals in a ticketed setting.
The library director said he’s humbled that he and his team have been recognized for their great work and that they’ve been able to bring so many big names to the First State.
“It’s been a bit overwhelming because all we’ve done is just come to work and do our jobs, and all these great things have happened.”
Registration to Grandmaster Flash at the Wilmington Public Library (10 E. 10th St., Wilmington) opens at 9:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at wilmington.lib.de.us. The event will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. The event is free but only registered guests may attend.
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
