Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. Stylistically, their music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, funk, jazz, hip hop, punk, and alternative rock. The band's lyrics range from the personal to the political, including social commentary on racism in the United States.
Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. It is primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony, to quickly strike the string against the fretboard. On bass guitars, this is commonly done with the thumb, while on double bass, the edge of the hand or index finger may be used. Popping refers to pulling the string away from the fretboard and quickly releasing it so it snaps back against the fretboard. On bass guitar, the two techniques are commonly used together in alternation, though either may be used separately.
Tackhead is an industrial hip-hop group that was most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect. The core members are Doug Wimbish (bass), Keith Leblanc (percussion) and Skip McDonald (guitar) and producer Adrian Sherwood. Despite being short-lived as a band proper, the legacy and output of these groups of musicians has been prodigious.
William Calhoun is an American drummer who is a member of the rock band Living Colour.
Melvin Glover, better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel, is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee, with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie. They first appeared on record in 1980 on the B-side of Spoonie Gee's single, "Love Rap".
The Message is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, released on October 3, 1982 by Sugar Hill Records. It features the influential title track and hip hop single "The Message".
Skip McDonald is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe.
Keith LeBlanc is an American drummer and record producer, and is a member of the bands Little Axe and Tackhead.
Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five was released in 1984 by Sugarhill Records after the split between Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. For this album, Melle Mel kept the group name 'the Furious Five' and used the title 'Grandmaster'. Rappers Cowboy and Scorpio left with Melle Mel although Mel's brother The Kidd Creole and Rahiem remained with Flash. New rappers King Lou, Kami Kaze, and Tommy Gunn joined, as did Flash's best friend E. Z. Mike as DJ.
Message from Beat Street: The Best of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & the Furious Five is a 1994 CD compilation album released on the Rhino Entertainment record label in the US. It consists of tracks recorded by the various versions of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Grandmaster Melle Mel. No tracks from the three Grandmaster Flash albums on Elektra Records are included or anything from the 1988 comeback album On the Strength.
Short and Sweet is a 1992 album recorded by the American singer Little Annie.
The Essential is a 2CD slipcased compilation album by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It was released in 2007 on the Union Square Music label. Although titled to Grandmaster Flash alone, it does not contain any tracks from Flash's later Elektra Records albums and mainly features tracks from The Message era and subsequent singles. The eight-page booklet contains a brief October 2006 essay by Quinton Scott and features pictures of Flash from the photo session originally used for his Essential Mix: Classic Edition album.
Friendly as a Hand Grenade is an album by the American band Tackhead. It was released in 1989 through TVT Records.
Strange Parcels was an industrial hip-hop group, formed in 1991. The nucleus was guitarist Skip McDonald, drummer Keith LeBlanc and bassist Doug Wimbish. The group also enlisted the aid of numerous guest musicians, including Mark Stewart, Bim Sherman, Jesse Rae, Talvin Singh and Basil Clarke.
Jungle Funk is a drum and bass group formed by Vinx De'Jon Parrette, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish. Beginning in 1996, they performed over one hundred and fifty shows throughout Europe and Australia. The trio performed a complex hybrid of R&B, drum and bass, dub, funk, and soul music, buttressed by sampling and electronic percussion. In 1998, they released their eponymously titled debut album Jungle Funk, which consisted of a recording of their live performance in Austria.
Jungle Funk is the eponymously titled debut album of Jungle Funk, released in 1998 by ESC Records. Capturing a live collaboration between musicians Will Calhoun, Vinx de Jon Parette and Doug Wimbish, the material comprising the album was recorded over the course of two days in April 1998 at Conrad Sohm, Austria. It combined the hard funk of Living Colour with the more technology based sampling approach of Tackhead.
Trippy Notes for Bass is the first solo album by bassist Doug Wimbish, released on August 24, 1999 by On-U Sound Records. On March 3, 2008, the album was re-issued as Trippy Notes for Bass & Remixes on Dude Records.
The following is a list of albums released by now-defunct hip-hop record label Sugar Hill Records.
The Sugar Hill Records Story is a 1997 compilation album compiling singles released by the Sugar Hill Records label. It was released by Rhino Records who had purchased the North American rights to the labels catalogue in 1995. On its release, it received positive reviews from Vibe, Spin and AllMusic.
