SATURDAY'S SINGLES : GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE and SALT -N- PEPA

[maggot]

Good morning gang and welcome to the return of Saturday's Singles. Today our way back machine takes us to this very day in 1976 when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first hip hop group to play a theater when they performed for 3000 people at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. They introduced the crowd to DJ techniques such as turntablism, breakbeat DJing, and the Quick Mix Theory. Grandmaster Flash (real name : Joseph Robert Saddler ) was born January 1, 1958 in Barbados. His Family immigrated to the US and he was raised in the Bronx. In high school he became interested in repairing electronic equipment and his Father's record collection. He formed Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five with  Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, Scorpio, and Rahiem. They released their debut album, The Message in 1982. The title track is an early example of lyrical conscious hip-hop and the song's lyrics describe the stress of inner-city poverty. Another track from the LP, "Scorpio" is our first selection of the day.  "Scorpio" was released in 1982 on Sugar Hill Records. The songwriters are  Melvin Glover, Nathaniel Glover Jr, Eddie Morris, Keith Wiggins, Guy Williams and it was produced by  Sylvia Inc. and Jigsaw Prod. It peaked at #77 in the UK and #30 on the R&B charts. Our copy is a 12" 45 RPM single with the following track list :

A Scorpio
Written-By – Furious Five
4:53

B It's A Shame (Mt. Airy Groove)
Written-By – Napoleon, Harmon, Lloyd, Garret, Wonder, Wright
4:56

Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) – turntables, drum programming, Flashformer transform DJ device, background vocals
Keef Cowboy (Keith Wiggins) – lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
Grandmaster Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) – lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover Jr.) – lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
Scorpio (Eddie Morris) – lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) – lead and background vocals, writer and arranger
Doug Wimbish - bass
Skip McDonald - guitar
Reggie Griffin, Jiggs, Sylvia Robinson - Prophet Sequential
Gary Henry, Dwain Mitchell - keyboards
Keith Leblanc - drums
Ed Fletcher - percussion
Chops Horn Section - brass

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So then we get back into our musical time machine and travel forward to this day in 1998 when Sandra Jacqueline Denton, she who put the Pepa in the hip hop female trio, Salt -N- Pepa, gave birth to her daughter Egypt Jahnari Criss. Egypt's Father is Treach (Anthony Shawn Criss) from the rap group, Naughty By Nature, who you may remember for their song,  "O.P.P." ("You down with OPP (Yeah you know me"). With all that in mind, we find ourselves spinning Salt -N- Pepa's song, "Let's Talk About Sex !". The tune, hailing from their third studio album, Blacks' Magic was written by Hurby Azor and then produced by Hurby Luv Bug and the Invincibles. It was released August 6, 1991 on the Next Plateau label. It peaked at #51 on the  Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, #24 Canada Top Singles, #13 Hot 100, #12 Hot Rap Tracks, #11 France, #8 Finland, #7 UK Dance, #6 Hot Dance Club Play, #5 Denmark, #4 Ireland, #3 Canada Dance/Urban, New Zealand and Norway, #2 Eurochart Hot 100, European Dance Radio, Sweden, and the UK, and #1 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Dutch Top 40, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Zimbabwe. Our copy is a 12" with 33 RPM playing speed. It has the following tracks :

Original Recipe Side

A1 Let's Talk About Sex (Original Recipe Mix - Radio)
Backing Vocals – Alpha Omega , Hurby Luv Bug
Producer – Hurby Luv Bug
Remix, Producer [Additional] – Ben Liebrand
3:33

A2 Let's Talk About Sex (Original Recipe Mix - Club)
Backing Vocals – Alpha Omega , Hurby Luv Bug
Producer – Hurby Luv Bug
Remix, Producer [Additional] – Ben Liebrand
5:57

A3 Swift
Producer – Steevee-O
4:04

Super Crispy Side

B1 Let's Talk About Sex (Super Crispy Remix - Vocal)
Backing Vocals – Alpha Omega , Hurby Luv Bug, Khadejia Bass, Label Us Dope
Mastered By – Herb Powers Jr.
Remix, Producer – Hurby Luv Bug
4:40

B2 Let's Talk About Sex (Super Crispy Remix - Instrumental)
Backing Vocals – Alpha Omega , Hurby Luv Bug, Khadejia Bass, Label Us Dope
Mastered By – Herb Powers Jr.
Remix, Producer – Hurby Luv Bug
4:40

Salt
Pepa
Spinderella

Additional musicians

Dante Basco - Rapping

Alpha – background vocals 
Omega – background vocals 
Hurby Luv Bug – background vocals

Stanley Brown – all keyboards

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