Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ. He is the creator of a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory, which elongates a song's drum breaks through the use of switching and looping duplicate vinyl copies. This technique gave rappers and breakdancers an elongated bed of beats to speak over or dance to, respectively, and gave birth to record cutting and scratching. He also invented the slipmat, used on a turntable platter rather than the traditional rubber mat for easier record manipulation.
He is the founder and creator of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the first rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2019 he became the first hip hop artist to be honoured with the Polar Music Prize. On May 21, 2022, he acquired an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from Buffalo State University. On June 1, 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from Lehman College in the Bronx, NY. On August 4, 2023, Saddler was issued a proclamation from the city of New York stating that August 4 is Grandmaster Flash Day.
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