Grandmaster Flash

When it came to putting together a collection of a living legend's art form, few labels would have produced what Strut tends to do with all of their releases. Compiling new and old turntable mixes from Grandmaster himself, as well as throwing in classic hip-hop influences like Kraftwerk and Babe Ruth, the UK-based label also managed to produce a whopping 28-page booklet. With help from Flash himself, the sheer detail and research put into this accompanying writing is enough to gush about, but the real gem lies in the actual mixes. Tearing through the most classic breaks off all time, like Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce" and Jeannie Reynolds' "The Fruit Song," Flash proves that he was creating breaks and juggles that are still emulated by some of hip-hop's most elite DJs to this day. Listening to some of Flash's old block party mixes from '79 and '82 makes you realise that something like DJ Q-Bert's legendary Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik is almost an homage to what was being done by this legend almost 20 years earlier. With the amount of time and effort that Strut has put into this edition, and the importance of Grandmaster Flash himself, this is a very worthwhile album to look into for not only fans of hip-hop, but for every genre that it's influenced. Anyone looking to further their knowledge on hip-hop culture and the early beginnings of scratch DJs should use The Official Adventures as a starting point of assisting their enlightenment.