“It is such an honour because a lot of times in our culture, what we do as DJs gets overlooked.”

A pioneer of hip-hop, a violin virtuoso and a street music charity are the winners of the 2019 Polar Prize, the prestigious Swedish music equivalent of the Nobel prize. Joseph Saddler, aka Grandmaster Flash, the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and The Playing For Change Foundation, will receive their awards from the Swedish king in Stockholm in June.

The winners will each receive one million Swedish kronor (95,700 euros, $108,000) at a gala in Stockholm on June 11 in the presence of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Grandmaster Flash, whose real name is Joseph Saddler, is best known for his 1982 hit “The Message” about inner city violence, drugs, and poverty, and for developing DJ techniques such as scratching, backspinning and punch phrasing.

Grandmaster Flash, who with his Furious Five group were the first hip hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, said in a statement that winning the Polar Music Prize was “such an honor, because a lot of times in our culture, what we do as DJs gets overlooked”.

80s one-hit wonders team up for tour

What do A Flock of Seagulls, the Escape Club, Missing Persons, the Motels, John Parr, and the Vapors have in common? They were all popular in the ’80s, and you could call them all one-hit wonders — even if that’s not entirely fair, because let’s not forget A Flock of Seagulls had three top 40 hits. They’re also all heading out on tour together. The Love ’80s Live Tour kicks off Aug. 2 on Coney Island, then runs for a dozen more dates, some of which will also feature Bow Wow Wow and Wang Chung. It’s safe to say, everybody will have fun. (Rolling Stone)

Black Star’s coming back

Yasiin Bey — previously known as Mos Def — says that he’s teaming up with Talib Kweli for a second collaborative album as Black Star. The first Black Star album, released in 1998, was critically acclaimed; although the duo have occasionally worked together in the years since, fans have now been waiting over two decades for a follow-up. Yasiin Bey made the announcement during a DJ set by Madlib, who’s also working on the album. He says the new LP is “coming soon.” (Hip-Hop DX)

Saddler was a founder member of Grandmaster Flash and the 3 MCs whose 1981 single, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, is the first documented incident of scratching on a record.

“It is such an honour because a lot of times in our culture, what we do as DJs gets overlooked,” said Saddler, reacting to news of the win.

“So for these people to say, ‘Let’s give this to someone who doesn’t necessarily use a microphone as their gift’, for me to be picked out of so many people, I am so, so deeply honoured.”

“It is a huge honor to be in this illustrious group of musicians who have received the Polar Music Prize,” Anne-Sophie Mutter, the German violinist said. From a small village in the Black Forest, Mutter auditioned for Herbert von Karajan at 13 years-old, playing with him and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra the following year, and debuting with the New York Philharmonic at just 17 years of age. In March, she will perform the world premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Gran Cadenza for Two Violins and Sebastian Currier’s Ghost Trio at Carnegie Hall.