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Grammy Nominations 2012: Grandmaster Flash Felt 'Cool'

Posted Dec 1st 2011 5:50PM by Latifah Muhammad
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Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash has done a lot over the course of his 20-year career, however performing during the 2012 Grammy nominations concert Wednesday night (Nov. 30) is high on his list of greatest moments.

Flash, who appeared alongside LL Cool J, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Melle Mel and Scorpio to perform their 1982 classic 'The Message' at the Grammy event, still marvels at the success of hip-hop music. "When I received the phone call that people of your peers are breaking into this musical pool called the Grammys, you become speechless," he tells The BoomBox.

The DJ, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, with the Furious Five for their famed track, describes the excitement he feels when performing the genre he helped put on the mainstream map. "To be in the company of all the people that have gotten Grammys and all of the people who have gotten nominated, and all of people who performed [last night]," he continues, "Just to be able to take this culture that I cultivated and do it on one stage, how cool is that?"

Two years after dropping the album, 'The Bridge -- Concept of a Culture,' Flash is getting started on his 12th release. "I'm in the album stage right now," he states. "This probably going to be totally different from what I've done before. There was a time when there was black music, white music, pop music, rock... Now all that's become a blur."

Despite being known for trailblazing the hip-hop game, Flash hopes to infuse different genres of music for the untitled project. "Now I have a chance to integrate all these different types of music, so that's where I'm at right now," the 53-year-old admits. "I'm still early with it but we're trying to get it done by the spring."

Watch Grandmaster Flash, Common, the Furious Five, Lupe Fiasco and LL Cool J Perform 'The Message'