They Said It Couldn't Be Done | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1985 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 46:42 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Producer | Grandmaster Flash, Gavin Christopher | |||
Grandmaster Flash chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 4.6/10 [1] |
Record Mirror | [2] |
Smash Hits | 4/10 [3] |
The Village Voice | C+ [4] |
They Said It Couldn't Be Done is an album by Grandmaster Flash, released in 1985. It is his second overall studio album, and his first album credited solely to him following the breakup of the Furious Five due to the departure of rappers Melle Mel, Scorpio, and Keith Cowboy. For They Said It Couldn't Be Done, Flash signed with Elektra Records and retained the services of Rahiem and The Kidd Creole. New rappers Lavon (Kevin LaVon Dukes), Mr Broadway (Russell Wheeler), and dancer Larry Love (Larry Parker) were added. The album was re-issued on CD in the US for the first time on April 26, 2005 (DBK Works dbk514).
It was the first album the group released on a major label. It was produced by Gavin Christopher and Grandmaster Flash (the group). The album also included "Girls Love the Way He Spins", "Sign of the Times", "Paradise" and "Rock the House (Alternate Groove)". It was the first hip hop album released by Elektra Records.
Gavin Christopher was an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.
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.
Nathaniel Glover, also known as Nate or Danny Glover and better known by the stage name Kidd Creole, is a former American hip hop recording artist. He was a member of the pioneering old school hip hop group Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five with his brother Melle Mel. In August 2017, Glover stabbed a homeless man to death in an altercation in Manhattan in New York City. In May 2022, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Melle Mel, Scorpio, and Rahiem. The group's use of turntablism, breakbeat DJing, and conscious lyricism were significant in the early development of hip hop music.
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".
"The Message" is a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It was released as a single by Sugar Hill Records on July 1, 1982, and was later featured on the group's debut studio album of the same name. The song was first written in 1980 by rappers Duke Bootee and Melle Mel in response to the 1980 New York City transit strike, which is mentioned in the song's lyrics.
"White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel's signature tracks. It was written by him with Sylvia Robinson. The bassline is taken from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band (featuring bassist Doug Wimbish) covering "Cavern", a single by the New York City band Liquid Liquid.
The Source is the fourth studio album by Grandmaster Flash, released in 1986. It was reissued in the US on CD for the first time in 2005.
Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang is the fifth album released by Grandmaster Flash. It was released in 1987 on Elektra records. The cassette version was titled Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang...And More and the CD version was titled Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang...And Even More – each containing bonus tracks that were not on the original vinyl.
On the Strength is the second and final studio album by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Released in 1988, it was the full line-up's last album together. Although contributing to the album itself, Cowboy was not present for the album or single photo shoots.
"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" is a single released by American disc jockey Grandmaster Flash in 1981. It is a live DJ mix recording of Flash scratching and mixing records from various groups using three turntables. The musician employed several DJ techniques in the recording, including crossfading, cutting, rubbing and backspins.
Joseph Robert Saddler, known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by elongating the drum breaks through the use of duplicate copies of vinyl. This technique gave birth to cutting and scratching. It also gave rappers better music with a seamless elongated bed of beats to speak on. He also invented the slipmat.
Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel and the Furious Five: The Definitive Groove Collection is a double CD compilation album by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released in 2006 on Rhino Records. It contains original full-length tracks by the various versions of both Grandmaster Flash and Grandmaster Melle Mel.
Adventures on the Wheels of Steel is a 3CD compilation album by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Grandmaster Melle Mel. It was released in 1999 on the Castle Music label and is a boxed set containing three CDs in slimline jewel cases together with a fold out insert.
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.
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.
Robert Keith Wiggins, known by his stage names Keef Cowboy and Cowboy was an American rapper and a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He is widely credited as having invented the term "hip hop".
Scorpio is a 1981 song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, released in 1982 as a single from their album The Message (1982). It reached #30 on the R&B Singles chart and #77 on the UK Singles Chart. It was dubbed the "greatest early electro track" by Mark Richardson in his album review for Pitchfork Media. The track was named after one of the members of the group, rapper Scorpio.
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.