Mainstream Attention 3
Their appearance and confident stature and demeanor were felt by those who came in contact with them. Of particular note are their organizational skills in producing a dance party. It is known that many would attend as they knew there would be a level of expectancy that exceeded similar events among their contemporaries. Herc and Flash did not have nearly as much street credibility or as many gang affiliations as Bambaataa. Herc enjoyed the protection afforded by members of the 5 Percent Nation (an offshoot of the Nation of Islam founded by Clarence 13X). Herc himself was not a member, but their cloak of protection provided him the mobility and credibility to host hip-hop jams throughout the Bronx and other boroughs of New York. It helped that Herc was, himself, a formidable figure.
Even though Grandmaster Flash had somewhat less street credibility than the other members of hip-hop's holy trinity, he compensated for it through contributions to the (intersections of) technological mastery and technique in the DJ element of hip-hop culture. Flash, much more than Bambaataa or Herc, was a showman. Trained to be an electrician, he manipulated the available technology to perfect the skills of mixing, cross-fading, clock theory-or the ability to "read records by using the spinning logo to find the break"-and of course, scratching. Flash made technological mastery aspirational in the minds of the young folk who became the first artisans of hip-hop culture.
These figures sport a moniker that engenders specific mythological narratives that serve hip-hop lore generated through their lives as the founders of one of the most popular youth cultural forms to emerge out of the Black diaspora. For example, his basketball teammates gave Herc the name "Hercules." He was at first reluctant to accept this nickname, but his size and athletic ability made it stick. Once he gained traction as a DJ, Herc's muscular build and ability to throw a party/jam "from the muscle," an expression used colloquially to connote street prowess and mastery, became the legendary narratives of hip-hop culture.
Afrika Bambaataa-translated to mean "affectionate leader"-is the name of a famous nineteenth-century Zulu Chief. Bambaataa first encountered imagery of the Zulus in the 1964 film starring Michael Caine. Still, his trip to Africa in 1975, coupled with his revolutionary upbringing, helped solidify him as a definitive sociological influence on the emerging hip-hop culture. Grandmaster Flash takes his name from the character of Flash Gordon, a time-traveling, alternate-dimension-traversing hero. He uses his athletic ability (i.e., hand-eye coordination and other skills) to conquer his adversaries.
To suggest that Flash took his moniker to heart is to suggest the obvious. Whatever the origins of these monikers, they each reflect how hip-hop culture stacks myth upon these three figures: Clive Campbell (a.k.a. DJ Kool Herc), Lance Taylor (a.k.a. Afrika Bambaataa), and Joseph Sadler (a.k.a. Grand Master Flash). Although legend in cultural narrative has its limitations, the contributions of these three figures require some revisiting as their mark on the culture unveils the ability for youth movements to redress shifting and limited conceptualizations of masculinity and the challenges of communal violence throughout the Black experience.