CHANGE THE BEAT by FAB 5 FREDDY

Cult eighties 12"! - As a graffiti Artist, hip-hop pioneer and now a Hiphop historian; Fab 5 Freddy's contributions to hip-hop culture have been numerous. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was an unofficial bridge between the uptown graffiti and early rap scenes, and the downtown art and punk music scenes, bringing, as he put it ‘the whole music, hip-hop, art, break dancing and urban cultural thing to the downtown table. Perhaps the most historic point in his illustrious career comes from his 1982 single entitled 'Change the Beat.' The A-Side of the 12" single featured Freddy rapping the song in both English and French, while the B-Side was a shorter version of the same song, this time performed entirely in French by female rapper Beside, who was credited on the initial pressings of the record as "Fab 5 Betty". When the beat stops in Beside's version of the song, Freddy says "Ahhhhh, this stuff is really fresh", a line which is quite possibly the most scratched sample in the history of hip-hop music.