A no-holds-barred memoir from the primary architect of hip hop and one of the culture's most revered music icons—both the tale of his life and legacy and a testament to dogged determination.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five fomented the musical revolution known as hip hop. Theirs was a groundbreaking union between one DJ and five rapping MCs. One of the first hip hop posses, they were responsible for such masterpieces as “The Message” and “Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.”

In the 1970s Grandmaster Flash pioneered the art of break-beat DJing—the process of remixing and thereby creating a new piece of music by playing vinyl records and turntables as musical instruments. Disco-era DJs spun records so that people could dance. The original turntablist, Flash took it a step further by cutting, rubbing, backspinning, and mixing records, focusing on “breaks”—what Flash described as “the short, climactic parts of the records that really grabbed me”—as a way of heightening musical excitement and creating something new.

Now the man who paved the way for such artists as Jay-Z, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, and 50 Cent tells all—from his early days on the mean streets of the South Bronx, to the heights of hip hop stardom, losing millions at the hands of his record label, his downward spiral into cocaine addiction, and his ultimate redemption with the help and love of his family and friends. In this powerful memoir, Flash recounts how music from the streets, much like rock ’n’ roll a generation before, became the sound of an era and swept a nation with its funk, flavor, and beat.

“Grandmaster Flash not only transformed and revolutionized the music industry with his innovative turntable genius, he also opened the doors to power, and influenced the hopes and dreams of generations . . . and he did it with class. That's the message.” —MC Hammer, Billboard Diamond Award winner, 3-time Grammy Award winner

“Grandmaster Flash is the first hip hop artist to stir my soul. I revel in the humanity found in his work and witness.” -Tavis Smiley, host of The Tavis Smiley Show and #1 New York Times bestselling author of What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, The Covenant with Black America, and The Covenant in Action

“By theorizing the turntable, the mixer, and the breakbeat into a brand new dance-floor science, Grandmaster Flash helped inject bonafide party-rocking into global pop. Every night a DJ saves your life, Flash deserves more than a little bit of your thanks.” - Jeff Chang, author Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of The Hip-Hop Generation and editor of Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop

Grandmaster Flash tells the exciting story of how his turntable wizardry and the talents of the Furious Five combined to give birth to hip hop. A musical pioneer.--Janet Jackson (Memoir)

Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) and the Furious Five was the first hip hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Saddler hosts a weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show, DJ Grandmaster Flash, on Hot Jamz (channel 50), Saturdays 5-8 p.m. ET.

David Ritz is the critically acclaimed author of the bestselling biography Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, and coauthor of the autobiographies of Smokey Robinson, Etta James, B. B. King, and Ray Charles.