Primary Wave Music is pleased to announce the addition of trailblazing DJ and one of Hip-Hop’s founding fathers, Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) to their roster. The prolific mix master will be managed by Eric Baker, a partner in Primary Wave’s talent management division, who is based out of the company’s West Coast office. Grandmaster Flash joins an already impressive roster of diverse management clients at Primary Wave including Cypress Hill, Bell Biv DeVoe, CeeLo, Green, Jefferson Starship, Melissa Etheridge, Eric Benét, Skid Row, and more.
“It was very important for me to find the right fit. In my search I came upon Primary Wave, it sounded like a school for electronics like my alma mater, Samuel Gompers,” Grandmaster Flash shares regarding the partnership. “Hmmm… I took a look and said yes, this multi-department setup is amazing. Meeting Eric and the staff sealed the deal for me.”
“I remember watching Soul Train and seeing Grandmaster Flash when I was 15 or 16,” Eric Baker notes. “I’m thrilled he’s joining our management roster and the Primary Wave family. It’s an honor to help carry forward the legacy of an artist who defined a culture.”
Undeniably one of the genre’s architects, few names have become as well known to Hip Hop lovers and music historians around the world as Grandmaster Flash. A true musical innovator, his use of turntables has sparked a timeless legacy that has extended from the Bronx block parties of the early 1970s to all corners of the globe today. Using duplicate copies of vinyl, Grandmaster Flash figured out a way to manipulate the vinyl with his fingertips and the crossfader of the DJ mixer. With what he eventually coined as “The Quick Mix Theory,” Grandmaster Flash laid the groundwork for the modern DJ and eventually birthed the art of beat-making and sampling.
By the end of the 1970s, Grandmaster Flash had set the foundation for breakdancers and emcees alike to perform over his seamless beats. The first rapper to join Flash in 1974 was Keith Wiggins, known as Cowboy. Two years later, Kid Creole and his younger brother Melle Mel joined, followed by Scorpio and Raheim. Throughout the 70’s, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five became known as one of the primary supergroups on the streets of The Bronx, later becoming recording artists and hitmakers. The group made waves with songs like “Superappin’,” “Freedom,” “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” and eventually, their revolutionary hit “The Message,” which prominently used Hip Hop as a vehicle for social commentary. Deemed as one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” the multi-Platinum single serves as a cornerstone for Hip Hop’s most foundational tracks. Over the next decade and beyond, Grandmaster Flash continued to dish out heavy hitters, ultimately racking up five certified Platinum and Gold albums.
No stranger to firsts, in 2007 Flash was recognized with yet another inaugural accomplishment – as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first Hip Hop group to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to his Rock Hall induction, Grandmaster Flash has also been the recipient of several notable awards throughout his five decade career, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, RIAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, The BET Icon Award honoring his contributions to Hip Hop, VH1’s Hip Hop Honors, the DJ Vanguard Award presented by Bill Gates, and the prestigious international Polar Music Prize.
Throughout the years, Flash’s musical contributions and legacy have also been cemented through several other creative feats – including his 2008 memoir, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats, his guidance as music director and role re-enactment in the 2016 hit Netflix series The Get Down, feature in A&E’s “Origins of Hip Hop” docuseries in 2022, and even more to come as he steps into this latest partnership.
