We’re only a few days away from the debut of The Get Down on Netflix. The first part of the Baz Luhrmann production will release on August 12th, but before then you’ll be able to whet your appetite with the latest featurette for the show. Grandmaster Flash is a legend from the earliest days of hip hop. He was one of the first to use a turntable and record as a musical instrument rather than an implement to simply play music.
Grandmaster Flash was approached to be a consultant on the show, but Baz Luhrmann wanted more. Luhrmann wanted Flash to be a character on the show. It seems he was a bit apprehensive at first, but came around in the end. Grandmaster Flash was able to work with Mamoudou Athie, the actor portraying him on the show, as well as some of the other actors playing other hip hop icons and got to really impart his vast knowledge of hip hop, DJing, and the early days in the Bronx.
This was no crash course, Grandmaster Flash had Mamoudou Athie practicing like crazy until he got it right. Said Athie:
Flash, he doesn’t play games. It’s just about getting it right… every time.
The practice appears to have paid off though, as you can see from Grandmaster Flash’s reaction to the work put in by Athie in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53zLvDvgE1o
Are you excited to catch the release of The Get Down once it’s available on August 12th? Tell us what you think in the comment section below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
