Grandmaster Caz

The first simultaneous DJ and MC in hip-hop history, Grandmaster Caz is perhaps best known for rhymes he didn’t even perform — namely, the uncredited verses that Big Bank Hank borrowed for the groundbreaking Sugarhill Gang single “Rapper’s Delight.” The fact that neither Caz nor his group the Cold Crush Brothers ever recorded an official full-length album doesn’t take away the fact that he was one of the most important and influential pioneers of old school rap. Caz was born Curtis Fisher, grew up in the Bronx, and attended his first Herc party in 1974. Inspired to try
doing the same thing, he immediately purchased some equipment and adopted the DJ name Casanova Fly (which later morphed into Grandmaster Caz). He joined the Cold Crush Brothers circa 1978-1979 and they became one of the most popular live rap groups in New York during the pre- Run-D.M.C. era. The Cold Crush Brothers appeared in the 1983 old school hip hop film Wild Style.