Jammerzine Exclusive: A Conversation with One of the Founding Fathers, Scorpio

Today’s exclusive is not an interview. It’s not a history lesson. It’s a lesson for the future. The reason for that is because this is with Scorpio, one of the founding fathers of Rap & Hip Hop. And like all true founding fathers, Scorpio, like his partner Mele Mel, continue to stay relevant.

And their idea of relevant is to not just survive but thrive. The proof is in their new song titled “Some Kind of Sorry”, which is full of the energy and hunger only the best up and coming acts can reproduce. The key with Furious 5, however, is that they aren’t reproducing anything. They PRODUCE! Enough said. They ARE the founding fathers and they have no need to remind you. If Hip Hop printed its own money they would be on the hundred.

Today we talk to Scorpio about how they did it, how he does it, and how its done. Everyone take a seat and press play because class is in session.

About Grandmaster’s Furious 5 Mele Mel & Scorpio

Grandmaster’s Furious 5 is made up of two pioneers of the original South Bronx Rap scene and creators of Hip Hop subculture; Mele Mel and Scorpio.

Fathers of today’s multi-billion dollar Rap industry, Mele Mel and Scorpio are to Hip Hop what Keith Richards and Mick Jagger are to Rock and Roll. Having toured the world as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 with the likes of U2, The Police, The Clash, Prince and Duran Duran as well as many Hip Hop greats, their recordings are amongst the most sampled in the history of Rap music.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 became a household name on the strength of records like ‘Freedom’, ‘The Message’, ‘White Lines’, ‘Superrappin’, ‘Beat Street’, ‘New York, New York’, ‘Survival’ and ‘Scorpio’. In the UK, the group charted in the top ten with ‘White Lines’, ‘Beat Street’ and ‘Step Off’.

‘The Message’ was the first Rap song to contain a social commentary and is in the archives of the Library of Congress for its social relevance within that time period. The song is considered one of the twenty-five most important of the last fifty years, proven by the fact that in 2013 ‘The Message’ was the first Hip Hop record inducted into the Grammy’s Hall of Fame.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12th 2007, the first and only Rap group to have been given this honour. The group have also been honored on the Bronx Walk of Fame, with a street named after them.

Quincy Jones used The Furious Five’s vocal talents for two Grammy award winning albums, 1995’s ‘Qs Jook Joint’, which was Jones’ first studio album in six years and 1989’s ‘Back on the Block’. The Furious Five also lent their voices to the legendary Chaka Khan for her Grammy-winning hit single ‘I Feel For You’, earning a Grammy for Mele Mel, the first for any Rap artist. Also among their many achievements is their performance on the anti-apartheid song ‘Sun City’, created by Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist Steven Van Zandt, which saw The Furious Five performing with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin of the Temptations, Ruben Blades, Miles Davis & Herbie Hancock.

The Furious 5 revolutionized music, helping to create a template for the industry that exists today, yet even now Mele Mel and Scorpio are pushing the boundaries of expectation by taking their sound in a new direction. New single ‘Some Kind of Sorry’ boasts lyrically dexterous and incisively delivered raps juxtaposed with a biting guitar riff, pounding drums and an infectious, melodic sung chorus. This genre-crossing record will appeal to the group’s original fanbase as well as bringing their music to a new generation.

A Brief History

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978 and comprised five rappers Mele Mel, The Kidd Creole, Keith Cowboy, Scorpio, and Rahiem, together with one DJ, Grandmaster Flash.

The group’s use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, choreographed stage routines and lyricism was a significant force in the early development of Hip Hop.