Hip-Hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash made a surprise appearance on the ‘Masked Singer’ on the Wednesday, Mar. 1 episode. He performed disguised as a blinged-out Polar Bear.
During his performance, the costumed bear performed Blondie’s#### song “Rapture.”
What makes this song so apropos is the fact that both artists (Flash and Debbie Harry from Blondie) were key in the popularization of the music. Harry also name-drops Flash in the 1980 track.
According to Flash, after she did that, he was introduced to a different crowd than just those folk from The Bronx.
“So now …white people and people of other colors were, ‘Who is Flash?’ So she tremendously opened the door,” he said in the Daily News.
When the judges had to share who they thought the Polar Bear was names like Jazzy Jeff, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, and Flavor Flav came up. However, Nicole Scherzinger knew it all along. She called it from the jump.
Polar Bear (who we know to be the turntablist) had to go up against two other singers, Medusa, and the California Roll.
Alas, his vocal talents on the show did not make him a winner and he had to reveal himself to the audience.
When asked by host Nick Cannon why did he do the show, he said it was because it made him laugh and the world needs laughter.
“In the world today, there’s a lot of sadness. And when I’ve seen this show, on a rough day I have for business, I was laughing,” he said. “It actually had me laughing and it allows you to let your guard down and just have fun. It’s a great show.”
Grandmaster Flash is an icon.
He and his crew the Furious Five, the first rap group inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007, celebrating the impact their music made on American culture.