Grandmaster mash

Hip-hop legend mixes it up Manchester style and speaks to 6 Music

11 July 2008 - Grandmaster Flash left his New York studio to play a surprise gig in Manchester last night.

The godfather of Hip-hop last appeared in the UK in 2002 and last night he ripped it up in front of an intimate crowd at the Joshua Brooks venue.

Belgian DJ duo, The Glimmer Twins, curated the night for the northern leg of the San Miguel Hidden Depths series, which saw them warm up for their hero.

Grandmaster then took to the stage, and tore into a mash-up of old skool funk, soul, hip-hop, indie and rock classics.

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit caused a a mini-dance floor pile up, and the following White Stripes 7 Nation Army saw beer launched across the sweaty crowd in a welcome relief.

No genre stone was left unturned, as Flash played everything from David Bowie to Snoop Dogg, scratching his own beats and baselines, before wrapping up his set with his own track, The Message.

Shortly before the gig he told 6 Music he’s back working on his first proper album in 20 years, and plans to give new artists a chance:

"That was my first thought, 'Let’s go out and find some serious minded unknown artists that really wanna get in the business.' So I put this contest on my website for like 3 months, and got people from around the world and so many demo’s. "

He continued he felt a little bit like Simon Cowell sifting through them: "I do like the idea of him making a forum for unknown people to be seen and break into the business, so from that respect, if I’m a Simon Cowell let’s do it, it’s all good."

Grandmaster admits he does also have some of his mates on the album, who are established already in the business as well.

He also revealed that the UK Hip-Hop scene has left him Dizzee and he’s a huge fan of Mr Rascal right now: "I’ve been feelin Dizzee since I’ve been coming here, I don’t know much of many people, ‘cos I haven’t been in the UK in a long time, but Dizzee’s my guy, I like what he’s doing."

Grandmaster says Dizzee is someone he’d like to collaborate with, and he also thinks Jay Z is an inspiration.

As yet, the record is untitled, but he says it will be finished by the end of the year, and has a release date pencilled in for October.

Grandmaster says a huge tour, to support it, is also on the cards, so watch this space.

Jo Youle
Photo by Nic Serpell-Rand