Grandmaster Caz

GRANDMASTER CAZ A.K.A. CASANOVA FLY

Real Name: Curtis Fisher

Curtis ‘Grandmaster Caz’ Fisher known as ‘The Live Rhyme Master’ was born in the Bronx, New York and was a part of the hip hop group, The Cold Crush Brothers. He played a very pivotal part in this new genre of music, being the first artist to incorporate both Deejaying and rhyming to the beat simultaneously. This allowed future artists to look outside of deciding whether to be a DJ or MC. Now you can be both, and set it off like the Casanova Fly. Grandmaster Caz wrote the dopest verse to the first hip hop and best-selling single of the top 40 charts in 1979, ‘Rapper’s Delight’ by The Sugar Hill Gang.

Like the other pioneers in hip hop they received their inspiration after seeing Kool Herc play at a party in the Bronx for the first time in 1974. He decided he wanted to become a Disc Jockey and bought DJ equipment the very next day. Caz started by teaming up with his best friend DJ Disco Wiz (Luis Cedeno). He later would team up with JDL (Jerry Dee Lewis) and form The Notorious Two. Caz became the first, incorporating rhymes in with his Djing. He is known for teaching the fundamentals of rhyming, structuring and formatting to known stars such as Whipper Whip (James Whipper) and Dot-A-Roc (Darryl Mason) and in 1978 they formed a group called the Mighty Force.

In 1979 DJ Charlie Chase (Carlos Mandes) from The Cold Crush Brothers asked Caz to help audition MCs for his group which was really a way for Charlie Chase to trick Caz into joining the super group, Cold Crush Brothers. JDL, Whipper Whip, and Dot-A-Rock were also part of The Cold Crush. The original Cold Crush Brothers group consisted of,(the founder, Original DJ Tony Tone, Easy A.D., DJ Charlie Chase, Mr. Tee, Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock who eventually left to join The Fantastic Five, who they thought were a more established performing group, with artists such as The Livingstone Brothers.

During the founding years of the hip hop scene the Cold Crush Brothers had gained a reputation for their multi-skilled thematic routines in New York, featuring three MC’s rapping simultaneously while two DJ’s worked the turntables, most of which Caz was responsible. Caz who later became known as the Captain of the Cold Crush had been recognised for his formidable lyrical talents. Caz came up with about the deafest rhyme going around at the time and is now a classic called ‘Dear Yvette.’ Sugar Hill records founder, Sylvia Robinson had over-heard night club bouncer and group manager of the Cold Crush Brothers Henry ‘Big Bank Hank’ Jackson rapping to a tape of Grandmaster Caz while working at a local Pizzeria. He was invited to be the third member of a group she was putting together called The Sugar Hill Gang. Hank accepted, but since he wasn’t an accomplished MC he went to Grandmaster Caz and asked to borrow his book of rhymes. Caz handed them over, no questions asked. When Hank would use the lyrics for ‘Rapper’s Delight’ (which became a huge successful hit in 1979, the first hip hop single to land in the Top 40 charts and the first time the term ‘Rapper’ was used to describe a person rhyming to a beat on the microphone) Caz figured Hank could hook him and the Cold Crush Brothers onto the Label. Caz would never receive the credit or compensation for the rhymes he contributed.

In 1982 the new movie, ‘Wild Style’ came out and gave The Cold Crush Brothers’ their first feature and were also on the soundtrack with Grandmaster Caz doing the movie theme song.

Caz released several solo projects in the late 80’s. Also releasing the song ‘MC Delight’ in 2000 which finally set the record straight about the disputed verse on the original ‘Rapper’s Delight’