Rap Moves On: The making of The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (An oral history)

“Don’t push me, ’cause I’m close to the edge…”  It’s well known that 'The Message,' with its slow, spare, ominous groove and downbeat slice-of-life lyric, opened new directions for hip-hop. Released in July 1982, it pointed away from the good-times boasting and partying of the genre’s early milestones, toward harsher territories that would be explored…

The story behind hip-hop's 'Stroke Ain't No Joke' : Goats and Soda : NPR

The story behind a lesser known track from hip-hop history: 'Stroke Ain't No Joke

20 Best-Selling Rap Music eBooks of All Time - BookAuthority

100 Best East Coast Rap Songs

Why Hip-Hop Has Many Fathers - LA Weekly

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History Author Event - Zinn Education Project

The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five — Hip Hop Electronic

Rapper's Delight': How hip-hop got its first record deal : NPR

When I Heard “The Message” For The Very First Time, by Brian G (aka 'bumpyjonas') - he/him, thenext100