This piece, The Message, was recorded by pioneer Hip-Hop artists, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five on the Sugar Hill record label. It was written by Ed “Duke Bootee” Fletcher, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and Sylvia Robinson and produced by Ed Fletcher, Clifton “Jiggs” Chase, and Sylvia Robinson. The song was released in July of 1982
Grandmaster Flash used this song to shine a light on the problems in the New York City housing projects and the area’s that are most commonly referred to as the “ghetto”. In the 1980’s the crime rate increased dramatically. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, between the late 1970’s and the late 1980’s there was an increase in murders, assaults, robberies and motor vehicle thefts. Most of these crimes occurred in the inner-city communities. People in these communities also dealt with increasing rates of unemployment, poverty, drug use and trafficking, and poor housing conditions. Grandmaster Flash uses this poem to discuss all of these issues.
The poem begins with “It’s like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under” (Intro). The term jungle refers to New York City which is sometimes mentioned as a concrete jungle due to the survival of the fittest mentality that most New Yorkers have. “…going under” illustrates having to give up what he once thought was worth fighting for. Constantly having to fight to live could put pressure on anyone. And sometimes dealing with that pressure can lead to resorting to other things, such as illegal activities.
In the second verse Grandmaster Flash gives the reader a look into the projects. For example where he says, “Broken glass everywhere /People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don’t care” (Verse 2, Lines 2&3)… “Rats in the front room, cockroaches in the back” (Verse 2, Line 4), he’s explaining exactly how people had to live in the government housing projects. These people are forced to live in an unsafe and filthy environment. The building caretakers aren’t stepping in to clean up and the tenants may feel that it’s not their job to clean up, or they just may not have an interest in cleaning it because they feel that it may just get dirty again so they just leave it alone. Grandmaster Flash continues on to say, “I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far /'Cause a man with a tow-truck repossessed my car” (Verse 2, Line 7&8), he’s referring to the fact that he has no money so he’s unfortunately stuck there.