THE HEIGHTS – EARLY HIP-HOP HOTBED

BY Led Black

This is a rare audio recording of Grandmaster Flash & The 4 MC’s at the Audubon Ballroom on December 23rd, 1978. A short time after, Raheim joins the group and it becomes Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. This is a testament to the fact that way before Hip-Hop became a national phenomenon, it was alive and thriving right here in Washington Heights. Breakdancing, Graffiti and Hip-Hop music, all had a home, right here in this neighborhood. Breakdancing icon, Crazy Legs, is from the Heights and some of the scenes in the seminal Hip-Hop film, Style Wars, were shot Uptown.

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