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Pioneer Hip-Hop turntablist Grandmaster Flash is set to kick off 2009 with a brand new studio album entitled The Bridge: Concept Of a Culture.

Backed by Strut Records and Flash’s very own Adrenaline City Entertainment, the LP marks the DJ’s first major label release of all original material since 1988’s On the Strength, the last album that featured the original Furious Five lineup.

A student of fellow Hip-Hop legends Pete “DJ” Jones and Kool Herc, Flash is credited with popularizing the groundbreaking turntable technique known as “cutting,” where phrases, edits, and overlays are done simultaneously between two records.

The technique was prominently displayed on the seminal 1982 street single “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” which created a blueprint for a whole generation of turntablists, and solidified the DJ’s status as the backbone of early Hip-Hop culture.

Last year, Flash and the Furious Five became the first rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Aware that the new album represents his introduction to a new generation of fans, Flash meticulously worked on the project for the last two years.

The purpose was to craft an album that reflects Hip-Hop’s current uniting power as a worldwide phenomenon, and Flash’s 30 plus years as an ambassador of the culture.

“As a DJ, I’ve been blessed to see many different people, places, and styles,” Grandmaster Flash explained. “The album title represents all the bridges I’ve crossed worldwide.”

The Bridge boasts an impressive list of contemporary and veteran artists including KRS-One, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Red Café, Mr. Cheeks, Princess Superstar, Grandmaster Caz, Big Daddy Kane, and Supernatural.

The Bridge: Concept Of a Culture hits stores on March 3, 2009.