Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Melle Mel Flexes His OG Status On An Eminem Diss

Last week (August 4), Eminem unleashed some diss bars at Grandmaster Melle Mel. Marshall Mathers, who thanked Melle in his Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction speech less than a year ago, clearly took umbrage with some of the comments his fellow Hall of Famer has made in the... Read more

August 8, 2023 Audio, News

Eminem Sends A Message To Melle Mel With A Furious Diss

Since entering August, Hip-Hop celebrations are in high gear as Heads march to August 11's symbolic 50th anniversary. Notably, one of the superstars of Rap is dissing a legendary MC from the culture's formative years. On the new song "Realest," Eminem serves a diss to Grandmaster Melle Mel, his fellow... Read more

August 4, 2023 Audio

Hip-Hop Legends From The Last 50 Years Gave The Most Iconic Tribute Ever

Last night (February 5), the Grammy Awards celebrated Hip Hop's upcoming 50th birthday. LL Cool J, one of the culture's first superstars, introduced the special concert, in which he also performed. During the presentation, LL pointed to August 11, 1973, and the Bronx back-to-school jam at a rec center, made... Read more

February 6, 2023 Video

Many Of Hip-Hop’s Greatest Rappers Name Their Top 5 MCs

Note: Jadakiss recently appeared on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby podcast and was asked who his top 5 Hip-Hop groups of all-time were. This article has been updated below with his response, as well as The Game’s top 5 LA Rap albums. A few days ago, during a podcast appearance, Ice... Read more

July 12, 2022 Video

Kidd Creole Is Found Guilty Of Fatally Stabbing A Man

On Sunday night (April 3), Grandmaster Flash and Grandmaster Melle Mel were filmed sitting together at the 2022 Grammy Awards—just two years after they received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Days later, another Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five member is in the news surrounding a much more severe manner. Nathaniel Glover,... Read more

April 7, 2022 News

The Top MCs Of The 80s & 90s Were Graded By Kool Moe Dee

Kool Moe Dee cemented a reputation during the 1980s as one of Hip-Hop's elite MCs who said what he felt without concern. After putting in work with The Treacherous Three group, Moe Doe pivoted to the scene as a feared battle rapper. He took on Busy Bee at the Harlem... Read more

January 11, 2022 Throwback

Swizz Beatz & Timbaland Are Giving Ownership In Verzuz To All Past Participants

It was an exciting week for Hip-Hop. Sunday culminated with a first-time Grammy win for Nas, a poignant second win for Anderson .Paak (as well as a show-stopping performance), and more. As many looked back at a year defined by the pandemic, the week also saw the acquisition of one... Read more

March 16, 2021 Video

A New Phife Dawg Album Is Coming In 2021

This week, Ambrosia For Heads recorded what is likely the final What's The Headline episode of the year. In the season 2 finale, we react to some of the LPs that our readers told us we missed after our "Best Albums List" for 2020. Additionally, we discuss next month's 63rd... Read more

December 22, 2020 Audio, Video

Eric B. & Rakim Name Their 5 Most Important Hip-Hop Songs Of All-Time (Video)

Eric B. & Rakim were on-hand for a celebration at Mikey Likes It Ice Cream shop in New York City's Lower East Side last week. Currently celebrating 30 years since Follow The Leader, the Queens DJ/producer and the Long Island MC/producer collaborated in listing five of the most important Rap... Read more

August 21, 2018 Video

Finding The GOAT Group: Run-D.M.C. vs. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility... Read more

July 11, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Finding The GOAT Group: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five vs. Whodini. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to... Read more

May 2, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Melle Mel Explains Why He Didn’t Think “The Message” Would Be Successful (Video)

Grandmaster Melle Mel is regarded as one of Hip-Hop's first generation MC icons. The lyrical front-man of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five helped move the fledgling genre of Rap from the party to a reflection of street reality. In his staggering discography, Melvin Glover was successful in both realms.... Read more

January 18, 2018 Exclusive, Video

Grandmaster Flash Has A New Message And It’s Aimed At Kool Herc & Afrika Bambaataa (Video)

Earlier this month, Hip-Hop celebrated its 44th birthday. Just like holidays for some families and groups of friends, it was not without some drama. Fans may have missed it, but some legendary shots appeared to be thrown—by one of Hip-Hop's pioneers towards another one of its founding figureheads. The issue... Read more

August 26, 2017 Exclusive, TBD, Video

Grandmaster Flash Calls Out Kool Herc’s DJ Skills In A Push For Peace (Video)

One week ago today, Hip-Hop celebrated its 44th birthday. That day is associated with an August 11 Bronx, New York party where DJ Kool Herc (aka Clive Campbell) prolonged the dance section of a record by using two turntables with copies of the same disc. For the event, an incredible... Read more

August 18, 2017 News, Video

Kidd Creole Of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Charged With Murder

Pioneering Hip-Hop crew Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five holds one of Rap's most memorable lyrics in their 1982 song "The Message": "Stabbed that man right in his heart, gave him a transplant for a brand new start." Ironically, one of the legendary Bronx collective's members, The Kidd Creole (born... Read more

August 3, 2017 News

Watch 40 Years Of Hip-Hop History In 4 Minutes In A Mind-Blowing Mashup (Video)

It ain't nothin' like Hip-Hop music...Over the last 40 years, there have been few forces in pop culture with more impact than Hip-Hop. Like Rock & Roll before it, the music and lifestyle shaped an entire generation and has had untold influence around the world. The Rub: The History of... Read more

June 5, 2017 Video

D.M.C. Pays Respect To “The Real Pioneers Of Rap” (Video)

During the mid-1980s, Run-D.M.C. helped put Hip-Hop music and culture in new places across the globe. D.M.C., Run, and the late Jam Master Jay were cultural ambassadors with hit records that brought the grit and fashion of the New York City streets to the worldwide mainstream. While Run-D.M.C. pioneered many... Read more

March 22, 2017 Video

Why Every Rapper Owes A Debt To Grandmaster Melle Mel (Video)

To those who closely study the history of Hip-Hop and embrace the earliest days of Rap, Grandmaster Melle Mel is a living legend and pioneer. The Bronx New York MC has a name that is often mentioned, whether in academic texts like Can't Stop, Won't Stop or Netflix series Hip... Read more

March 19, 2017 Video

Grandmaster Melle Mel Has An Unpleasant Message For Grandmaster Flash

Thirty-three years ago, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 made one of Hip-Hop's seminal singles, "The Message." In 2015, two of the Furious 5's MCs, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Scorpio, have a message for Flash: pay up. “No matter what happens, if you say ‘Grandmaster Flash,’ you think of ‘Grandmaster... Read more

May 25, 2015 News

Finding The GOAT: Who Is the Greatest MC Of All-Time & Why Do We Care? (Video)

Chances are, if you are a Hip-Hop fan, at some point in your life, you've been embroiled in a conversation about who is Hip-Hop's Greatest Of All-Time (GOAT) MC. Whether it was in a lunch room, on a school bus, in a barber shop or in a board room, there... Read more

May 7, 2015 Video

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Grandmaster Melle Mel vs. DMC…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

February 24, 2015 Throwback

Afrika Bambaataa’s Record Crates Helped Create The Hip-Hop Genre. Get A Look (Video)

Hip-Hop's three forefathers are often remembered as pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa. With all three men tied to the Bronx, New York of the 1970s, each brought a unique flare to the sound of the culture, with varying personal backgrounds. Herc, a native of Jamaica, had... Read more

August 7, 2014 Featured-homepage, Fresh, Throwback

Nas, RZA & More Discuss The Earliest Days of Hip-Hop in The Message Hip-Hop Documentary (Video)

BET's 4-part Hip-Hop documentary, The Message, premieres tonight at 10pm. Part 1 focuses on the early days of Hip-Hop and features Doug E Fresh, Fab 5 Freddy, Ice Cube, DJ Premier, Grand Wizard Theodore, Nas, MC Lyte, Questlove, Russell Simmons, Snoop, RZA, Sway, Talib Kweli, Kendrick Lamar, Eve, Swizz Beatz... Read more

June 4, 2014 Throwback

Willie D Vs. Grandmaster Melle Mel Boxing Match (Video)

To anybody who's ever learned everything about this early '90s (1992?) short-lived rapper boxing league, finding some footage is priceless. This is some two-plus minutes "Yo! MTV Raps" b-roll footage of Geto Boys O.G. Willie D fighting Grandmaster Melle Mel (of Furious Five fame). It goes without saying, these men... Read more

September 4, 2013 Throwback

Celebrate Father’s Day With A Tribute To Some Of The Men Who Raised Hip-Hop

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there from AFH. Here's an old school playlist from some of the fathers of hip-hop. You'll hear music from artists like Run-D.M.C., Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Whodini, LL Cool J, The Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh & Slick... Read more

June 16, 2013 Audio, Throwback

We lost the godmother of hip-hop earlier this week. Sylvia Robinson, the co-founder of Sugar Hill Records, passed away on Thursday. Here’s a playlist of some of the music from Sugar Hill. You’ll hear music from The Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Treacherous Three, The Funky 4 +1, The Sequence and more. RIP Sylvia Robinson.

She put out 2 of the most important records in hip-hop history. Rapper's Delight was the first record to put hip-hop on the global map and The Message forever changed the notion of what hip-hop could be. Click below to hear the playlist.... Read more

October 1, 2011 Audio, Playlists