The rapper Grandmaster Flash labelled a “genius”

Grandmaster Flash (actual title Joseph Saddler) emerged from the South Bronx within the mid-Seventies. DJing funk and soul at block events across the Bronx, Saddler realised that the drum break was the most well-liked a part of the observe and located a approach to prolong the drum break with ingenuity. Alongside DJ Cool Herc and Afrika Bambaattaa Saddler, he’s thought-about one of many creators of hip-hop music.

Nonetheless, regardless of being a hip-hop purist, in a dialog with Billboard journal, the Bronx legend considers Drake a genius and believes he has modified rap music for the higher. 

Earlier this yr, as hip-hop celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, Grandmaster Flash performed at the Grammys alongside the likes of LL Cool J, Questlove and new-generation artists comparable to GloRilla and Lil Uzi Vert. Nonetheless, earlier than the efficiency, whereas on the carpet, he highlighted his admiration for different modern MCs.

Drake is thought for his singing type of rapping and his seamless mixture of hip-hop and R’n’B. Nonetheless, he’s additionally recognized for his versatility and daring beat selections. Saddler expressed his affinity for the latter whereas talking to Billboard.

Opening up about his opinion of Drake (actual title Aubrey Graham), Saddler unveiled, “He is probably the only rapper, and I want to speak on his talent because he’s a great rapper, but he’s the only one, in my opinion, that’s daring enough to rap on a trap beat, to rap on a disco beat, to rap on ballad beat.”

He continued, “I would call it like a Prince formula. When Prince makes records, it does not sound like his last record. Drake is daring enough to rap on all different types of beats. I think he’s a consummate genius.”

Many golden-age rappers, together with the likes of KRS-One and Ice-T, have been critical of new-school artists like Drake, and many imagine the tradition has regressed. Fortuitously, for hip-hop, one of many style’s pioneers doesn’t share these opinions. You possibly can hear Flash reflecting on 50 years of hip-hop within the video under.