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On March 3rd, 2009, legendary hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash releases The Bridge on Adrenaline City Entertainment via Strut, his first high profile studio album since his final recordings for Elektra back in 1987. As a DJ, I ve been blessed to see many different people, places and styles. The album title represents all the bridges I ve crossed worldwide, explains Flash. The bridges of time, cultures and colour, the bridges of hip hop, funk, pop, rock, jazz, punk, disco and R&B.

Recorded at Flash s own Adrenaline Lab studio in New York during 2007-2008, the over-riding theme of the album is the global language of hip hop. Wherever I travel as a DJ, I see the incredible power of this artform, Flash explains. I am constantly amazed by it. That s the line that runs through the album we speak many languages and come from many cultures but, wherever I go in the world, there is one universal culture of hip hop.

Based on this theme, Flash features the track We Speak Hip Hop as a centrepiece, bringing together a multi-national tag team consisting of four MCs rapping in their own languages. KASE-O (from Spanish crew Violadores Del Verso), MACCHO (from Ozrosaurus, Japan), ABASS (Senegal) and AFASI (from Afasi & Filthy, Sweden) trade verses for the first track of its kind. I used one of my main battle breaks from back in the day for this one and I chose MCs who had the right flow, continues Flash. It wasn t about finding the biggest names some of the guys are known widely in their own country, some are more underground. It was more about the right chemistry. KRS ONE glues this one together with the main hook and the final verse.

Throughout the album, Flash mixes up the flow and features some heavyweight guests and intriguing collaborations. Familiar faces appearing on the album include BUSTA RHYMES on the X-rated special, Bounce Back , A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-TIP, alongside Will Smith collaborator KEL SPENCER and JUMZ on the poetic Shine All Day and SNOOP DOGG alongside mixtape hero RED CAF+