Legendary Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 frontman Melle Mel is currently touring the country for a lecture series on the impact of the Hip-Hop classic, 1982's groundbreaking single, "The Message."
The presentation, The 40th Anniversary of The Message and The Birth of Socially Conscious Hip-Hop, is an immersive experience co-hosted by ROCK THE BELLS' JayQuan with an emphasis on the song's continued influence, which was written by Sugar Hill Records percussionist Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher and Melle Mel.
During his lecture at California State University Northridge, Melle Mel also took the time to talk about his role in the landmark Hip-Hop film, 1984's Beat Street. Melle Mel penned the track, "Beat Street Breakdown" for the movie, which was executive produced by the iconic Harry Belafonte. Prior to Mel writing the song, however, he had a sit-down with Belafonte, which proved to be pivotal to his writing process.
"They didn't need us to be in the movie," Mel recalled about the film. "They just wanted us to write the song. Harry is an eloquent guy, so I'm transfixed, just listening to him."