The Funky 4 MCs Vs. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 4 MCs was the first Hip-Hop/Rap Battle.
On the night of May 11, 1979, The Funky 4 MCs and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five MCs battled at the P.A.L on 183 St & Webster Ave in the Bronx, New York.
The Funky 4 MCs consisted of 2 DJ’s; DJ Breakout & DJ Baron and The 4 MC’s; Sha-Rock, Jazzy Jeff, Rahiem, K.K. Rockwell and Li’l Rodney C.
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious IV MCs included Grandmaster Flash, Keith Keith Aka. Keef “Cowboy” Wiggins, Mr. Ness and brothers Melle Mel and The Kidd Creole. The group has changed its name three times: DJ Flash & 3 MCs, GrandMaster Flash & The Furious 4 and finally GrandMaster Flash & The Furious 5.
At the time in 1979, Rahiem was part of the Funky 4 MC’s he later joined The Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5. The event was a Jazzy Dee production and started at 9pm, It was $4 dollars for fellas and $3 for ladies. The Brothers Disco and Sisters Disco were also at the event.
Below you will see a flier advertising the rap battle on May 11, 1979. The flier was designed by Buddy Esquire (Lenoin Thompson III).
Who won? Only those who attended could judge.
We confirmed this with Rahiem of Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five MCs.
Read: Rahiem was a member of the Funky 4 MCs and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
