History Music / TheMessage

# "It's A Shame (Mt. Airy Groove) (4:57)

* CrapsackWorld: "The Message" and "It's A Shame" both are an outcry about the state of the world is in, especially for the black man.

* EpicRocking: "The Message" and "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" are longer than five minutes.

* InstrumentalHiphop: "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" has vocals, but they are only samples, no new lyrics.

* {{Pacifism}}: "It's A Shame" addresses violence and warfare and makes a plea for peace.

* PoliticalRap: "The Message" and "It's A Shame" talk about ghetto poverty and crime.

** "The official adventures of..." from "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" would be sampled in itself countless times, among which during "PSK- What The Hell Does That Mean?" by Music/SchoollyD from his album ''[[Music/SchoollyDAlbum Schoolly D]]'' (1985). The line itself comes from a ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCs1WHbN8NU spoken word recording.]]

** The line "there ain't a damn thing funny" in "Johnny Ryall" from The Music/BeastieBoys ''Music/PaulsBoutique'' (1989) is a shout-out to "The Message".
** "It's Nasty" was sampled by Music/PublicEnemy during "Leave This Off Your Fuckin' Charts" from ''Music/FearOfABlackPlanet'' (1990)

** "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" contains samples from "Good Times" by Music/{{Chic}}, "Apache" by The Incredible Bongo Band, "Rapture" by Music/{{Blondie}}, "Another One Bites the Dust" by Music/{{Queen}}, "8th Wonder" by Music/TheSugarhillGang, "Monster Jam" by Sequence, "Glow of Love" by Change and "Life Story" by The Hellers.

!! Don't push these tropes, 'cause they' re close to the edge.

* TitleTrack: "The Message", though these words don't appear in the actual lyrics.

** "The official adventures of..." from "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" would be sampled in itself countless times, among which during "PSK- What The Hell Does That Mean?" by Music/SchoollyD from his album ''[[Music/SchoollyDAlbum Schoolly D]]'' (1985). The line itself comes from a ''Comic/FlashGordon'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCs1WHbN8NU spoken word recording.]]

''Got sent up for a eight-year bid''\\

''Spend the next two years as a undercover fag''\\

* StockSoundEffects: The police car arriving, sirene and all, near the end of "The Message".

--> ''My brother's doin' bad /stole my mother's TV''

* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the ghetto life in "The Message", which tells a story about a hypothetical kid who drops out of school and becomes a criminal because of the way people idolize them. He unsuccessfully attempts an armed robbery, gets arrested, and is sentenced to several years in prison where he is raped.

'''The Message''' is the 1982 debut studio album by the American hip hop band Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, best known for the title track which became an international hit song. Generally considered to be a CultClassic in hiphop history in 2002 it became the first rap song to be listed in the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry.

** "The official adventures of..." from "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" would be sampled in itself countless times, among which during "PSK- What The Hell Does That Mean?" by Music/SchoollyD from his album ''[[Music/SchoollyDAlbum Schoolly D]]'' (1985).

** The line "there ain't a damn thing funny" in "Johnny Ryall" from The Music/BeastieBoys ''Music/PaulsBoutique'' is a shout-out to "The Message".

** "The official adventures of..." from "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel" would be sampled in itself countless times.

* GenreBusting: "Dreamin'" and "You Are" sound more like romantic soul ballads than hiphop.

* PoliceBrutality: The band is arrested by the police near the end of "The Message".

* CrapsackWorld: "The Message" and "It's A Shame".

* EpicRocking: "The Message" and "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel".

* GratuitousFrench: "It's Nasty".
* InstrumentalHiphop: "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel".

* MommasBoy: "Everybody raise your arms if you love your mother."
* MotherhoodIsSuperior: "Everybody raise your arms if you love your mother."

* {{Pacifism}}: "It's A Shame".

* PoliticalRap: "The Message", "It's A Shame".

* SpokenWord: "Yo Flash. This time cut it mellow!" in "It's A Shame".

-->My son said, Daddy, I don't wanna go to school\\
Cause the teacher's a jerk, he must think I'm a fool\\
And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper\\
If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper\\
Or dance to the beat, shuffle my feet\\
Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps\\
Cause it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny\\
You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey

--> It was plain to see that your life was lost\\
You was cold and your body swung back and forth\\
But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song\\
Of how you lived so fast and died so young

-->Turned stick-up kid, but look what you done did\\
Got sent up for a eight-year bid\\
Now your manhood is took and you're a Maytag\\
Spend the next two years as a undercover fag\\
Bein' used and abused to serve like hell

*** "Now you're unemployed/ all non-void/ walking 'round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd."

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The music video to "The Message".

--> "My brother's doin' bad /stole my mother's TV
--> Says she watches too much/ it's just not healthy
--> ''Series/AllMyChildren'' in the daytime/ ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' at night
--> Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight".

'''The Message''' is the 1982 debut studio album by the American hip hop band Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, best known for the title track which became an international hit song. Generally considered to be a CultClassic in hiphop history in 2002 it became the first rap song to be listed in the NationalRecordingRegistry.

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''The Message'' is the 1982 debut studio album by the American hip hop band Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, best known for the title track which became an international hit song. Generally considered to be a CultClassic in hiphop history in 2002 it became the first rap song to be listed in the NationalRecordingRegistry.

The original 1982 LP released in the USA didn't have the single "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel". The 1982 LP released in the UK did add it to the tracklist. Nowadays it's added to the CD release as a bonus track.

** In "You Are" God and Our Lord Jesus Christ are mentioned.

* YouWatchTooMuchX: "My brother's doin' bad /stole my mother's TV/ Says she watches too much/ it's just not healthy/ ''Series/AllMyChildren'' in the daytime/ ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' at night/ Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight".

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The music video to "The Message".

''"The Message"'' is the 1982 debut studio album by the American hip hop band Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, best known for the title track which became an international hit song. Generally considered to be a CultClassic in hiphop history in 2002 it became the first rap song to be listed in the NationalRecordingRegistry.

The original 1982 LP released in the USA didn't have the single ''"The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel"''. The 1982 LP released in the UK did add it to the tracklist. Nowadays it's added to the CD release as a bonus track.

* TheBigRottenApple: ''"The Message"'' about the pressures of living in the inner city.
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: From ''"The Message"'':
-->''My son said, Daddy, I don't wanna go to school''
-->''Cause the teacher's a jerk, he must think I'm a fool''
-->''And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper''
-->''If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper''
-->''Or dance to the beat, shuffle my feet''
-->''Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps''
-->''Cause it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny''
-->''You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey''
* ConsciousHipHop: ''"The Message"'' was an early hugely influential political and conscious hip hop track, decrying the poverty, violence, and dead-end lives of the black youth of the time.
* CrapsackWorld: ''"The Message"'' and ''"It's A Shame"''.
* DespairEventHorizon: ''"Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge"'' in ''"The Message"''.
* DownerEnding: Each tale told in ''"The Message"'' ends bad or without much hope for the future.
* ElectronicSpeechImpediment: ''"Scorpio"''.
* EpicRocking: ''"The Message"'' and ''"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel"''.
* GenreBusting: ''"Dreamin'"'' and ''"You Are"'' sound more like romantic soul ballads than hiphop.

* GratuitousFrench: ''"It's Nasty"''.
* InstrumentalHiphop: ''"The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel"''.
* LyricalDissonance: ''"The Message"'' has a very upbeat tune and lyrics like this:
--> ''It was plain to see that your life was lost''
--> ''You was cold and your body swung back and forth''
--> ''But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song''
--> ''Of how you lived so fast and died so young''

* MommasBoy: ''"Everybody raise your arms if you love your mother."''
* MotherhoodIsSuperior: ''"Everybody raise your arms if you love your mother."''
* OneWomanSong: ''"That girl is fresh!"'' in ''"She's Fresh"''.
* NonAppearingTitle: Nowhere in ''"The Message"'' is the word ''"message"'' actually used.
* {{Pacifism}}: ''"It's A Shame"''.
* PoliticalRap: ''"The Message", "It's A Shame''
* PrisonRape: From ''"The Message"''.
--> ''Turned stick-up kid, but look what you done did''
-->''Got sent up for a eight-year bid''
-->''Now your manhood is took and you're a Maytag''
-->''Spend the next two years as a undercover fag''
-->''Bein' used and abused to serve like hell''

** ''"She's Fresh"'' contains samples from ''"It's Just Begun"'' by The Jimmy Castor Bunch and ''"Lovomaniacs (Sex)"'' by Bobbie Knight.
** ''"It's Nasty"'' contains samples from ''"Genius of Love"'' by Music/TomTomClub.
** ''"It's a Shame"'' contains samples from ''"Mt. Airy Groove"'' by Pieces Of A Dream.
** ''"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel"'' contains samples from ''"Good Times"'' by Music/{{Chic}}, ''"Apache"'' by The Incredible Bongo Band, ''"Rapture"'' by Music/{{Blondie}}, ''"Another One Bites the Dust"'' by Music/{{Queen}}, ''"8th Wonder"'' by Music/TheSugarhillGang, ''"Monster Jam"'' by Sequence, ''"Glow of Love"'' by Change and ''"Life Story"'' by The Hellers.
** ''"The official adventures of..."'' from ''"The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel"'' would be sampled in itself countless times.

** ''"Dreamin'"'' opens with a dedication to Music/StevieWonder, ''"'cause he's the greatest!"''
** In ''"You Are"'' God and Our Lord Jesus Christ are mentioned.
** From ''"The Message"'':
*** ''"Says she watches too much/ it's just not healthy/ Series/AllMyChildren in the daytime/ Series/{{Dallas}} at night/ Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight"''.
*** ''"Now you're unemployed/ all non-void/ walking 'round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd."''
* SpokenWord: ''"Yo Flash. This time cut it mellow!"'' in ''"It's A Shame"''
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The music video to ''"The Message"''.