This message can apply to anyone who has been in a tough situation to the extent that they get to that point of frustration and pressure. Throughout the piece, the lyrics “Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge I’m trying not to lose my head” are sung after each verse. The recording includes the sound of shattering glass while the rapper raps those lyrics. However, it could also be referring to how life and times can be shattering, in an emotional, rather than physical, sense. On one hand, it is referring to the litter and pollution of the area. I think reference to “broken glass” has a double meaning. The rapper, who was Mel Melle, one of the members of the group, refers to the world as a “jungle.” The whimsical melody supports this by making the world sound ever changing and unpredictable. The melody at the beginning of “The Message” sounds whimsical. It’s somewhat ironic that apolitical group created a hit that is recognized as the beginnings of political rap. Rather, there was a focus on his interests in partying and living the good life. In Flash’s autobiography, there was not any discussion in his political interests. It wasn’t until much later that he made some appearances with the group again. As a result Grandmaster Flash left the group.
However, in the end, the entire group got credit for the song. In the end, Mel Melle, a member of the group, finally agreed to do it. According to Flash, “nobody in the group liked it,” it was “too much of a downer” The group was more about doing the party rap scene. Sugar Hill Records pressured the group to do this song, but Flash didn’t want to. Īlthough he’s recognized as the leader of the group who made “The Message,” Grandmaster Flash had little to do with it. During his childhood, he saw two different worlds: one good, one bad. He joined a gang for a short time, but he quit. Many people were in gangs, and cops were afraid to come there. He was in a new neighborhood in South Bronx called Fort Apache.
Then in early 1970s, he moved back to the Bronx with his mom. He played DJ at school parties and got along in the mixed black and white environment. Later on, he was sent to a school in the country called Greer School. He ran away many times until child foster care placed them out in the country with a white family which owned a dairy farm. His mother developed mental illness, and he and his sisters were placed in foster homes in the Bronx. His father deserted the family, Flash and his 4 older sisters, when he was still young.
His father was violent and abusive and beat both him and his mother. In the first few chapters of the book he describes a tough childhood. The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats, Flash’s autobiography, explains some of the intentions behind his music. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were the first hip hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The Reagan administration’s crackdown on drugs, known as the “war on drugs,” caused resentment in many communities which saw harsh enforcement and long prison sentences for those involved in drug dealing or drug use. The 1980s in New York was a time of economic difficulty, especially for the struggling poor. The music and lyrics in this piece resonate not just with poor blacks living in a ghetto, but cross over into all of our lives when we get to that “don’t push me because I’m close to the edge” point because of frustration and pressure we feel. Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” (1982) is a cry for help.
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