First things first I have to admit that although I had heard the name "Grandmaster Flash" I had absolutely no idea who he was, what his group was called, what songs he had released or why he was relevant to the world of rap / hip-hop music. It's not a genre of music I had any real exposure to until I met my husband. When I saw this book in the store I figured I'd give it a shot and see if I could learn a bit about the man who seemed to have inspired so many artists in the rap world.I'll say I was extremely happy with this book. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected that I would. When Flash was talking about his young life with his parents, his sisters, and the Greer school my heart broke for that little boy. I enjoyed the tale he wove about how his life built around music, then women, then drugs. It was hard to read about the shady business, the collapse of his dreams but heartwarming again to read about his re-entry in to the music world.
All in all it was a great book. It was a personal tale and full of honesty and genuine emotion. I still don't listen to rap music and I still don't know a single technical thing about DJ'ing but I have developed a whole new respect for the genre and the music pioneers, like Flash, that made it all possible.
