Curtis Brown (born April 18, 1960), better known by the stage name Grandmaster Caz or Casanova Fly, is an American rapper, songwriter, and DJ. He was a member of the hip hop group The Cold Crush Brothers from 1979 to the mid-1980s. He is best known as the (uncredited) main writer of Big Bank Hank's raps on the seminal 1979 hip hop single by

The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit " Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's o ...

, " Rapper's Delight". He worked with Debra Harris as a celebrity tour guide for Hush Hip Hop Tours, a hip-hop cultural sightseeing tour company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and is a board member of

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

's Hip-Hop Council, Hip-Hop Ambassador and board member for Windows of HipHop and CEO of GMC Entertainment Inc.

Musical career

Caz first encountered rap in 1974 at a

Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with contributing to the development of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in the 1970s through his "Back t ...

block party. Shortly after, he teamed with DJ Disco Wiz under the name Casanova Fly to form one of the first DJ crews, Mighty Force. Caz was also the first rapper to perform both DJ (record) and MC (vocal) duties. In the late 1970s, he joined The Cold Crush Brothers. Caz admits that he himself stole new equipment during the New York City blackout of 1977. In 2015, Caz was featured on the single "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Sugarhill Gang controversy

Grandmaster Caz is generally acknowledged to have been the main writer of the lyrics of Big Bank Hank (real name Henry Lee Jackson) on the 1979

single " Rapper's Delight", which sold around 5 million copies and introduced hip hop music to the mainstream. Jackson had been Grandmaster Caz's manager, and was working at a pizza parlor when music executive Sylvia Robinson overheard him rapping Grandmaster Caz's lyrics, and asked him to be part of the group she was forming, The Sugarhill Gang. Jackson had never rapped before, and asked Caz for lyrics to use. This is most evident in his opening verse, when, instead of introducing himself as Big Bank Hank, he raps, "Check it out, I'm the C-A-S-A-, N-O-V-A, and the rest is F-L-Y". (Casanova Fly is Grandmaster Caz's alternate moniker.) Big Bank Hank's verse in the song about seducing Lois Lane away from

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

was also lifted from Caz. In 2000, Caz released the song "MC Delight", a parody of "Rapper's Delight" which told his side of the story. In the song, Caz states about giving away his lyrics, "I gave it to him thinking/ Check books, credit cards, more money/ Than a sucker could ever spend/ But he never gave a nigga a god damn dime/ And was supposed to be my friend".

Other work

He currently hosts Hush Hip Hop Tours, the official sightseeing tour of Harlem and The Bronx. Caz was a prominent feature in Ice-T's 2012 documentary " Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap". Caz was interviewed for the 2004 documentary '' Just to Get a Rep''. In 2008, he was one of the participants at the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Library conference on Hip Hop. In November 2021, Grandmaster Caz and female MC Sha-Rock started co-hosting the show ''That's The Joint'' on the

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

channel Rock The Bells Radio, run by

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

. The show runs Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 1 PM. At present Grandmaster Caz is working with and for A&E, MTV, Paramount, De La Calle, and the History Channel.

Awards and honors

In 1998, Caz was listed #11 out of Blaze Magazine's Top 50 MCs of all Time. He was also inducted into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame in 1999. In June 2008, Grandmaster Caz was inducted into the

Bronx Walk of Fame The Bronx Walk of Fame is a 23-block corridor along the Grand Concourse, one of the main boulevards in the Bronx, the northernmost borough of New York City, with street signs honoring people who have lived in the borough and had worthy accomplis ...

. A street plaque bearing his name is now on permanent display on the Grand Concourse, the most famous thoroughfare in the Bronx. On April 18, 2022, Grandmaster Caz's birthday, newly-appointed Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson proclaimed April 18 "Grandmaster Caz Day".

Legacy

Artists who cite Grandmaster Caz as an influence include

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, Rakim,

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in ...

and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

. Grandmaster Caz was portrayed by

Jaleel White Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom '' Family Matters''. The character was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance on the show; however, he ...

in the ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's ...

'' episode "American Music". In episode 3 of part 2 of '' The Get Down'', while listening to "Rapper's Delight" on the radio, The Get Down Brothers' member, Boo, tells his date that Grandmaster Caz is the real writer of the line and says that Caz is the "nicest MC around".

Discography

Albums

*''The Grandest Of Them All'' (LP) Tuff City 1992 *''You Need Stitches: The Tuff City Sessions 1982-1988'' (LP) Ol' Skool Flava 2004 *''Rare & Unreleased Old School Hip Hop '86-'87'' (LP) Ol' Skool Flava 2006 *''Mid Life Crisis'' (CD, Album) Jazz Child Records 2008

Singles & EPs

* Grandmaster Caz & Chris Stein - Wild Style Theme Rap 1 Chrysalis 1983 * Grand Master Caz & Chris Stein - Wild Style Theme Rap No.1 (12", Promo) Toshiba EMI Ltd 1983 * Yvette / Mister Bill (12") Tuff City 1985 * Count Basey (12") Tuff City 1986 * Get Down Grandmaster / I'm Caz (12") Tuff City 1987 * You Need Stitches (12") Tuff City 1989 * Star Search (12") Tuff City 1992 * Grandmaster Caz with Whipper Whip* - To All The Party People (12") Tuff City 1994 * 45 King Old School Remixes Vol. 4 (12", EP) Ol' Skool Flava 1996 * Grandmaster Caz & Chris Stein - Wild Style Theme Rap 1 / Wild Style Subway Rap Beyongolia 1998 * DJ Parker Lee Presents: Grandmaster Caz (12") Jazz Child Records 1999 * MC Delight (Casanova's Revenge) (12") Jazz Child Records 2000 * Grandmaster Caz & DJ Signify - Untitled (7") Grandgood Records 2003 * Grandmaster Caz & DJ Haitian Star - Move The Crowd / Scene Of The Rhyme (12", Ltd) 360° Records (2) 2005 * Capitol 1212 and Grandmaster Caz - Encore, Sure you Want More 12" Kool Kat records 2008

Compilations

* Wild Style Original Soundtrack 1982 * Crotona Park Jams (CD, Comp, Mixed) (Grandmaster Caz Self-released) 2008 * RareHipHop.com & Grandmaster Caz - Underground Heat Vol 1

References

External links

Discography at Discogs
*
DJ Grandmaster Caz Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caz, Grandmaster 1960 births African-American male rappers American hip hop DJs Living people East Coast hip hop musicians Rappers from the Bronx 20th-century American singers 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American musicians